The Silent Guardian
by MisterKristopher
Summary: What if Naruto had a Deaf cousin who also has the ability to change the original outcomes of the future & everyone's hearts especially Sasuke's? [Third Genre: Humor][Kiba x OC: Friendship which evolves into romance in the sequel,"The Silent Guardian Returns" based on the NS series.][Almost all pairs will be canon & reasonable LGBTQ characters will be involved as well!]
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary:** What if Naruto had a Deaf cousin who also has the mysterious ability to change the original outcomes of the future & everyone's hearts especially Sasuke's? [Third Genre: Humor][Kiba x OC: Friendship which evolves into romance in the sequel,"The Silent Guardian Returns" based on the NS series.][Almost all pairs will be canon & reasonable LGBTQ characters will be involved as well!]

However, the sequel will be included later on once this story is completed although I'm not exactly sure when. Moreover, I guarantee you guys I won't abandon this story or the sequel regardless of the circumstances because I enjoy creative writing way too much to do that.

 **Note #1** : Based on my analysis, the anime show,"Naruto" probably took place during the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan despite several modern technologies being involved in it.

For example, the first artificial refrigerator was first invented by William Cullen in 1755 and the first steam locomotive was also invented by John Fitch in 1794. Oh, and the discovery of electricity was found by Ben Franklin in 1752 while the first camera was invented by Johann Zann in 1685 as well. Due to the race of Shinbois being so advanced in multiple fields including technology which progressed much quicker than the rest of the world, it would definitely make sense why there are several modern technologies included in the show.

 **Beta:** A close acquaintance on Facebook one of my friends referred me to since he's a writer who's always looking to edit everyone's stories all the time. Thank you!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto which is rightfully owned by its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. However, I am responsible for being the original creator of my original character. In other words, claiming my original character as your own is not permitted and of course, illegal as well. Thank you for your understanding and I truly hope you enjoy my very first FanFiction story.

* * *

 **The Silent Guardian**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Prologue**

Off-screen, the Third Hokage clears his voice briefly before he began narrating with a firm voice, **"About six years ago on October 10th, a red-orange tailed beast named Kyuubi suddenly emerged in the middle of nowhere. It was so fierce and mighty that its nine furry, elongated tails lashed out and destroyed craggy mountains like they were nothing. Indeed, nothing could stand in the path of the nine-tailed beast. Its powerful, agile hind-legs and feet made contact with the ground every time the nine-tailed beast flailed its body around howling and snarling in rage. Its rampage created multiple earthquakes which could be felt for many miles."**

 **"Of course, the effects of the earthquakes were indeed strong enough to cause enormous, full-bodied tidal waves in the horizon to be formed beforehand before they rushed with a terrible speed the very source of the earthquakes only to crash into the shores destroying everything in sight. The Shinobis rose up to defend their villages respectfully especially those from one of the largest hidden villages, Konohagakure which also lies within the Land of Fire."**

 _Many Shinobis are seen while some are injured when others continued to use all of their strength to defend Konoha from the terrifying nine-tailed beast. Suddenly, a large, red, and warty toad materialized into a humongous wisp of thick and white smoke sporting a bronze-colored pipe in its mouth revealing a tall, mysterious man on the top of its large head. Once seen much closer, the dark-figured man is now seen much more clearly and has spiky, blond hair and oceanic blue eyes. He appeared to be wearing a foreign robe consisted of two colors: red and white. He then positioned his hands together as he shouted a rather strange incantation which was directed at the nine-tailed beast while a bright, white light engulfed everything around him including the man as well._

 **"This Shinobi who sacrificed his life in order to save his village is known as the Fourth Hokage."**

 _A demonic seal symbol appears on the stomach of a newborn male baby lying on a soft, white pillow crying loudly surrounding by wax candles lit aflame with a red-orange tint to them. He has three noticeable black whisker-like marks on each side of his rosy cheeks in addition to his spiky, blond hair and oceanic blue eyes._

 **"Of course, the newborn male baby the Fourth Hokage sealed the nine-tailed into in order to save his own village is also known as Naruto Uzumaki."**

* * *

Still off-screen, the The Third Hokage cleared his throat and paused for several seconds before gathering all of his strength to disclose the second story he's about to narrate carefully. He finally spoke again in a firm tone, **"We all thought it was the end of the disastrous event which dynamically affected Konohagakure, its neighboring Shinobi countries, and the rest of the nations. Unfortunately, we were wrong. On November 8th approximately thirty days later, another disastrous event occurred which greatly affected the community of Konoha once again before shattering their world profoundly and bringing forth complete silence and grief upon on them. Two precious Shinobis were forcefully taken away from us forever to permanently join the dead on the other side from the graves and beyond and this is how the event ensued on a full moon night."**

 _A mysterious man is seen speeding out through a massive gate-way which is the one and only entrance to the Land of the Shadows. The man is now seen speeding along a man-made bridge connected to the mainland toward the Land of the Fire where Konoha lies within._

 **"One of the smaller Shinobi villages, Kagegakure faced a serious predicament. In other words, the villagers lost its most prominent Shinobi, Hado Juei who also was the Awaikage and chief leader of the village to old age and illness. The incredibly powerful barrier which surrounded the Land of Shadow, and which only the Awaikage and chief leader has the ability to be in control of** **eventually dissipated thus placing the villagers in grave danger. As a result, few nearby Shinobi villages and nations with evil intentions took the opportunity to invade the Land of Shadow in order to gain access to great treasures out of pure greediness including its** **most valuable object in the Guardian Temple's possession without the knowledge of the legend and the ancient artifact itself."**

 **"W** **hatever it was inside the ancient artifact was indeed so valuable that it held a literal meaning of battle between life and death. Of course, the ancient prophecy itself stated that it was the ultimate weapon to successfully prevent or enable the resurrection of the ten-tailed beast and Kayuga Otsutsuki. In other words,** **if it falls into the wrong hands, shadows from the pits of hell would be be brought forth and everything including the skies will be enveloped in pitch-black darkness forever permanently. However, if it falls in the right hands, a brand-new era of peace and harmony will be brought forth instead."**

 **"Fortunately, a very formidable kunoichi who had immense spiritual power was able to foresee her father's death and the destruction of Kagegakure occurring much sooner than she anticipated.** **At the same time, she also had a powerful vision regarding her newborn male son being the destined one who was truly capable of bringing forth a brand-new era of peace and harmony upon on the world with his cousin, Naruto by his side. Unfortunately,** **her newborn son was on the verge of succumbing to death by illness which took his sense of hearing briefly after his birth."**

 **"In order to save her son, she gathered all of her strength and took everything in her own powers to seal whatever it was in the ancient artifact into her newborn son in hopes that he would miraculously recover so the prophecy would come true. Doing so took a fatal toll thus resulting in her death after successfully completing the ancient ritual though his newborn son was somehow able to spontaneously recover several minutes later."**

 _A crescent moon birthmark symbol with a thin, black outline appears on the underside of the newborn male baby's right wrist. At the same time, it is_ _laying on a soft, white pillow sleeping soundly surrounded by wax candles lit aflame with a fully visible blue tint to them. The newborn baby has soft, slightly wavy blond hair and oceanic blue eyes._

 **"Upon on finding the beloved kunoichi dead, the mysterious man quickly took his newborn son and took everything in his own powers to bring him to safety with absolute secrecy. On November 10th approximately two days later, he managed to bring it almost all the way from the Land of the Shadows to a remote location which lies within the Land of Fire close by Konohagakure."**

 _The same mysterious man is seen speeding by numerous tree throughout a lush green forest toward the Land of Fire which Konohagakure resides in before coming to a complete halt panting heavily. He had been running for several hours so he was forced to take a very brief rest before scouting the areas ahead._

At the same time, the Shinobi shouted to himself quietly as he buckled a bit, feeling slightly worried and concerned for the safety of his newborn baby, **"Dammit,** **where is Jiraiya? He should be here soon so he could bring the new baby to safety out of reach!"**

 _He quickly cocks his head to the left and right as he looks at the horizon over his shoulders from behind before he began running again quickly picking up his pace afterwards. After a while, he arrived at a secluded area and came to a complete halt once again then ducked into a small, wooden cabin that seemed abandoned to avoid being detected by enemies passing by. There is a swish sound followed by a couple of soft, clacking sounds. He had created a tiny fire in a small lantern that glowed brightly with passion despite its size thus lighting up the entire room, and causing the darkness itself to retreat gradually, before the lantern was placed on a seemingly fragile, but sturdy and wooden table behind him._

He sighed as he began speaking softly to himself, **"Jiraiya is surely late..."**

A voice suddenly came out forth from the darkness within making the man jump slightly, **"Who says I was late?"**

The mysterious man spun around reflexively, about to draw his kunai out of his black leather pouch when he realized who it actually was. He then moved his hand away from his black leather pouch and sighed annoyingly, **"Dammit, couldn't you be any less subtle? You honestly surprised me and I thought my heart was practically going to burst because of you."**

The second man walked out of the darkness chuckling quietly as if he is amused by the first man's reactions. He was sporting a green-gray kimono, pants, and red getas along with a red vest with two large yellow circles embedded on each side. The most prominent features about this man were his gigantic white and spiky hair and his tribal paint symbol that resembled two red vertical lines which begin under his eyes and end at the very bottom of his cheeks.

However, there's another interestingly prominent feature that made him stand out the most: his headband protector with one large, thick horn sticking out from the top-left and top-right corner of it on both sides with a visible symbol stamped on the metallic surface on the middle of it: 油. At the same time, he seems to be holding up one hand with his large palm facing the second man while his other hand is resting against the very base of his neck from behind.

 **"Sorry, sorry! I didn't exactly mean to startle you!"** Jiraya exclaimed a bit loudly as he reassured the man. He suddenly paused for a moment and noticed the bundle of blanket in his arm concealing the newborn baby before speaking softly with a serious tone as he dropped his hands so they now rested at his sides.

 **"However, did you bring the baby? Is it safe?"** asked Jiraya.

The first man nodded his head as he walked toward him to put the newborn baby in his arms gently. At the same time, Jiraiya reached out with both of his muscular arms to receive the newborn baby before he began to hold it steadily while the mysterious man spoke firmly, **"Yes, yes...he is."**

He paused for five seconds before clearing his throat to speak softly while looking at the floor and he appeared to be trying to hold back the tears which were slowly filling his oceanic blue eyes up to the rim, **"However, the baby encountered...a problem after birth."**

Jiraiya then cocked his head at the mysterious man and spoke sternly with a serious expression which was considered an uncharacteristic trait he expressed infrequently, **"What kind of problem would that be?"**

The mysterious man raised his head to look directly at Jiraiya revealing his oceanic blue eyes full of tears which quickly started to overflow as they rolled down down his cheeks delicately. He shakily placed both of his hands on his head before running his fingers through his slightly wavy blond hair as he tugged on them. He began to sob quietly while exhibiting a painful expression at the same time and began to speak softly, **"The baby...got sick. We...thought he was seriously going to die, but he didn't even although that wasn't the issue. T-T-The doctor said...that as a result of getting sick, the baby...lost his h-h-hearing."**

Jiraiya was astonished by what the mysterious man's answer to his question was to the point he started struggling to make a substantial comment. However, he realized that the man was about to speak again, but with a much more firm tone as he cried harder, **"The doctor also told us that he will n-n-never be able to b-b-become a S-S-Shinobi. I-I-I'm a-a-afraid that he w-w-would be never able to lead a n-n-normal life so I d-d-did s-s-something."**

The mysterious man continued to weep for the newborn baby which was still in Jiraiya's arms. Jiraiya finally regained his composure and shifted his attention from the man to the newborn baby slowly feeling grief-stricken and a bit guilty while he exhibited a straight expression on his face.

Once he heard what he said in the end, his head shot up to look at the man in curiosity before inquiring him, **"Did something?"**

Something in his brain clicked as he realized what the mysterious man exactly said to him in the end. He spoke again, but with a slightly higher level of volume as he made gestures with one of his hands in an almost erratic way while the man wiped the tears away from his oceanic blue eyes with one of his sleeves, **"Wait, what exactly did you do? Did you something to the newborn baby?"**

The mysterious man's eyes suddenly darted to the side as if he has sensed something then redirected his attention once again to Jiraiya as he began to speak sternly although it seemed to be rushed, **"I'll explain later. They're coming right now. I'll distract them so you can transport the newborn baby to Konoha without any troubles and I'll be back when I'm done."**

Before Jiraiya had a chance to reply, the man quickly walked to Jiraiya before lowering his head to kiss the newborn baby on the head. He then lifted his head back up as he ran his soft, tender fingers through his son's slightly wavy blond hair as gently as possible. He spoke in a very soft voice while trying to maintain his composure, **"I truly glad I got to meet you at last. I'm sure you and Naruto will be great brothers and get along."**

The man paused for five seconds before proceeding quickly as he spoke slightly faster this time, **"I'm sorry, but I hope you forgive me because I had to do something so you could lead a normal life and achieve your dreams while you get the chance to meet the love of your dreams as well. If I'm not wrong, you're the destined one after all. I love you very much, my precious son."**

Meanwhile, off-screen, the Third Hokage interjects himself into the story as he begins speaking again, **"This Shinobi who ended up sacrificing himself in order to save the newborn male baby despite the fact his remains were never found is known as the Fourth Hokage's brother."**

Knowing it was highly possible that he probably was going see his newborn baby for the very last time, the man kissed his son on the head once again. He then departed as quickly as possible without making any single sounds except the sound of soft footsteps receding. Jiraiya was left perplexed, unable to say anything, but finally uttered the first few words that appeared in his mind once he finally gained his composure, **"What was that...?"**

The man had a lot of explaining to do once he returned although Jiraya already was fully aware that he may never be able to return after this very fated night. Jiraiya gradually shifted his eyes from the front door to the newborn baby which was still sleeping heavily in his arms with a peaceful expression on his face. Jiraya slowly smiled as he began to speak softly, but frowned out of concernment afterwards, **"Hey there, little guy. It's a pleasure to finally meet you but we should leave for Konoha before anything else happens."**

Jiraiya quickly blew out the candle in the lantern and silently departed the small, wooden cabin with an obvious destination in mind while he continued to hold a bundled up newborn baby in his arms.

In the end, the newborn baby was successfully brought to the Third Hokage in the Hokage Tower in Konohagakure without any issues and was still snoozing in his arms peacefully as the Third Hokage softly begins to speak before he retires to his room for the night, **"The newborn male baby bundled in Jiraiya's arms when he was brought to me with great care is known as...Kurisu Uzumaki."**

* * *

At some point sooner or later on in his room, the Third Hokage would whisper something one last time, barely audible, before he finally fell into a deep slumber tiringly, **"Even though the destruction of Kagegakure was barely prevented, some things that should not have been forgotten were lost because too few people had the knowledge of the legend itself. Besides that, Kagegakure had seen too many battles in its past and was rumored that its inhabitants and internal government decided to isolate it from from the mainlands after that fateful night.** **At first, the history behind the knowledge itself became a legend. As time passes by while the child grows hidden in plain view, the legend will become a myth which eventually becomes a mere dream in the end as well..."**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note #1** : We both are currently around six years old just in case you guys are unsure based on the phrase between two brackets in the beginning.

 **Note #2** : Bukijutsu refers to the use of handheld weapons in combat such as shurikens and kunais. For example, Ten-Ten is mainly a bukijustu user.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Iruka's Bad News**

[Time Skip: Six Years Later]

Grunting and murmuring quietly unknowingly, I tossed around a bit as I unconsciously switched sides to sleep on my right side instead of my left side. My body gradually became tense causing me to scrunch my face up in discomfort in the process creating a certain facial expression which could easily be misinterpreted as being in pain.

 ** _"Why is it so warm?"_** I thought to myself as I began having the urge to snap my eyes open while I tossed around a bit once again and ended up laying on my back against something solid and flat.

When I finally woke up and revealed my oceanic blue eyes to the world, I leaned my back up forward at a ninety degree angle, using only my core, before noticing the first thing after I woke up: there was absolute nothingness surrounding me.

Or perhaps, it's basically because everything surrounding me was fully bathed in warm, golden rays of sunlight making it quite impossible for me to see everything in front of me. I attempted to get up on my two feet and succeeded in doing so without losing my balance before I instantly noticed something else: my lower body was unconcealed and barely untouched by the warm, golden rays of sunlight causing me to wonder, ** _"Does it mean my face and upper body is also visible?"_**

I briefly began inspecting my own body carefully with a puzzled expression plastered on my face before I came up with an interesting question which could possibly lead to a plausible conclusion, _ **"Why couldn't I see anything in front of me yet I am able to see my own hands and body?"**_

Before I knew it, something in the horizon began emerging, coming forth from within the intense, radiant rays of sunlight toward me fully capturing my attention the moment I noticed it. I squinted as I put one of my hands above my oceanic blue eyes to try and get a clearer view in order to figure out the true identity of the distorted image.

 **" _What is that?"_** I wondered again although it took several minutes for the distorted image itself to become almost clear and visible once the transformation was complete. It took a minute for the realization to hit me after I was able to successfully identity the image which was previously distorted several minutes ago from earlier on. It apparently wasn't an object, but rather a young, enigmatic woman standing several feet in front of me before my oceanic blue eyes. Despite the fact her face was still concealed by the bright rays of sunlight, she was clearly dressed in a foreign, but elegant outfit quite unfamiliar to me. Perhaps, she could be an outsider?

Shortly afterwards, the mysterious woman rose her right arm to point at something to the far right out of my sight. I shifted my head a bit to the right to notice something in the very corners of my oceanic blue eyes. I cocked my head all the way to the right out of pure curiosity and squinted again to try and get a clearer view of whatever she was pointing her finger at a couple of seconds ago. Unlike her, the image wasn't distorted and seems to be a location was overwhelmingly familiar eliciting a surprised reaction from me as I pondered, ** _"A playground? But, what exactly is it doing here?"_**

I turned my head to look at the woman who was still pointing her finger leaving me slightly confused. However, I somehow was able to realize that she moved her finger a bit which was directed at something else instead of the playground itself. Upon deciding to trust her, I proceeded to redirect my attention to the playground once again before I began walking toward it. Once I reached a certain distance between myself and my destination, I noticed a small, blurry figure in front of the playground and came to a complete halt.

 ** _"Who's that?"_** I whisper to myself softly mentally as I approach that mysterious small figure at a normal pace while I continued to thread along, but cautiously this time. Of course, that was because the mysterious woman was already gone by the time she was out of my line of sight causing me to feel more vigilant since I was alone once again. Once I was able to recognize that small figure, I began picking up my pace as I ran toward him smiling ear to ear before I lunged into his small arms to embrace Naruto finally acknowledging the fact I was no longer alone at last.

A round, grey stone suddenly came hurling at Onii-san and hit him square in the back of his head causing him to scream in agony before he stumbled to the ground as he wrapped his hands and arms around his head whimpering loudly in fear. I quickly looked in front of us to witness small children moving their lips while they pointed their fingers at him. I was unable to comprehend what they were saying, but I could figure out what was going on at that moment. They were speaking obscure words while jeering and taunting him at the same time. In an instant, I jumped in front of Onii-san to protect him from the bullies as I attempted to open my mouth hoping that the children would catch the following words I threw at them as I shouted as loud as I could, **"Stop it! Leave Onii-san alone!"**

However, nothing came out of my mouth instead so I attempted to holler at them loudly again only to come to the exactly same outcome I received during the first time with no success. I mentally screamed at myself out of nowhere feeling very frustrated and tense, _ **"No! I cannot speak!"**_

Leaving me with no choices but to bring Onii-san to safety, I turned around to catch the gruesome sight of him laying lifelessly on his right side almost completely covered in crimson blood with his white, place, and cloudy eyes wide open. I fell to my knees abruptly and grabbed one of his shoulders to shake him firmly repeatedly in hopes that he would wake up. Once I realized that he was completely dead judging how cold and limp his body felt to my warm and tender touch, I began crying violently before letting out a bloodcurdling scream, **"NOOOOOOOOOO!"**

* * *

My eyes snapped open in a flash as I shot up panting and sweating profusely with a tight, dry lump in my throat while I tried to make sense of the environment surrounding me to confirm whether it was considered real or not. I cocked my head to the left to the sight of a snoozing Onii-san with his loopy tongue hanging out of his mouth while laughing like a total idiot about something. At least I had a very reassuring thought based on what he was actually dreaming about in his sleep at the moment. I sighed to myself with extreme relief and wiped all of the cold sweats away from my face and forehead before I noticed that it was already morning based on how slightly light it was outside through the clear, glassy windows stationed next to the queen-sized bed.

 ** _"At least it was just a dream, nothing more..."_** I mentally mumbled to myself with my thin lips completely closed not letting any single sounds escape. I furrowed my eyebrows at the same time slightly perplexed when the image of the woman came to mind before I mumbled to myself mentally again, _ **"But...who was that mysterious woman?"**_

I groaned quietly to myself as I rubbed my forehead so I could move my slightly wavy, but small, blond bang out of the way before I started contemplating more, ** _"Why was she in my dream? Was she actually trying to tell me something?"_**

Realizing that I needed to go badly, I silently slipped out of the queen-sized bed and quickly headed to the bathroom the door, turning right to enter it before I closed the bathroom door behind me and went to do my business. Once I was finished, I eagerly returned to the bedroom grinning with a sweet prank in thought before entering it as I came to a complete halt and turned around slightly to the left to face the bed.

I suddenly rushed toward it as I jumped into the air so I could let my knees make impact with the mattress which caused Onii-san to yelp and bounce off the bed before he landed on the floor with a loud thud sound. I giggled as I put up my hand forming a victory sign with a huge grin on my face before he began to struggle getting up with his hands and arms sprawled on the bed.

 **"O-O-Obouto-san! I was just having a good dream about ramen and you woke me up when I was about to eat it..."** he grumbled softly as he made a pouty face at me.

I chuckled lightly understanding he just said to me by reading his lips before I grabbed the notebook and pen off the brown, wooden nightstand and scribbled something down so I could show him the following response on the piece of paper: **I'm sorry, but it was quite tempting to wake you up this way. I'll cook you ramen while you get yourself ready. Is that a deal?**

Upon on seeing the response from me scribbled on the piece of paper, a big grin formed on Naruto's face as he signed to me, **"Yes!"**

At the same time, he nodded his head at me frantically before he got up to run the bathroom quickly. I grin to myself widely knowing how easy to egg on him when it comes to his favorite food which is obviously ramen. I walked back through the bedroom door and continued walking down the hall toward the kitchen to start preparing Naruto and myself breakfast once I entered the kitchen.

When I was done, I placed a bowl of hot, steamy ramen on one side of the sturdy, wooden table and a bowl full of white rice blended with soft, tender teriyaki chicken and chewy steak jerkys on the other side of the table. Afterwards, I pulled a drawer behind me open and took out two pairs of wooden chopsticks before placing one on each side of the table next to every bowl as Naruto popped into the kitchen making a cheerful expression once he saw what I made him for breakfast.

 **"Wow, it smells really good! Thanks, Obouto-san!"** he exclaimed loudly as he leaned forward to kiss me on the cheek affectionately in a brotherly way before pulling the chair backward a little bit as he proceeded to sit at the table then made a 'come here' gesture to me. I nodded my head at him and immediately joined him at the table.

As soon as I was settled in and before we began feasting hungrily on our first meal of the day, we both placed our hands together while Onii-san had the honor of saying, **"Itadakimasu!"**

 **"Gotsousama!"** he exclaimed loudly once again while rubbing his belly pleased as he gives me a thumb-up indicating that I did a great job preparing the breakfast for him before I nodded my head in return and collected the bowls with the chopsticks in them and put both in the sink.

Afterwards, I made gestures to him that I needed to use the bathroom to prepare myself for the day. He nodded at me before he started to wash both bowls while I walked to the bathroom to take a warm shower.

I came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of sand-colored khaki shorts, blue ninja sandals, and a blue shirt with a black Konoha symbol on it once I was finished using the bathroom and walked back to the kitchen to find Naruto looking at our calendar on the wall next to the metallic sink.

Onii-san heard me approaching him so he turned around to face me while pointing at a certain square on the calendar to show me what was going to happen today. I squinted to see the following words written in that square: First Day of Academy. Upon on learning what was going to happen today, a huge grin formed on my face as I nod my head excitedly at Naruto who was also just happens to be expressing the same reaction I recently just experienced myself a moment ago.

Today is our first day at the Academy and I definitely cannot wait.

After I locked our apartment door and put the keys into my front pocket while Naruto was standing next to me, we left to head for the Konoha Academy which is located next to the Hokage Tower on the left. We were of course, fortunate to be residing within range of both buildings although Naruto's much more ecstatic about the fact we live much closer to Ichiraku's restaurant on the other hand.

 _ **"Based on my readings, I believe the Konoha Academy's studies are consisted of a core curriculum where students are taught subjects in a ninja-context while they learn the Shinobi rules. That and the fact students also take ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and bukijutsu classes as well, correct?"**_ I mumbled to myself mentally as we continued to walk toward the Academy.

As we got closer and closer to the Academy, we both instantly recognized a very familiar figure standing in front the large, sturdy red doors waiting for us. That person is of course, Iruka-sensei who has been taking care of us since both of us were babies and we look up to him as a fatherly figure because we don't have any families or relatives except each other. He can be a little bit stern, but he is a kind and respected Shinobi especially since he just happens to be an instructor at the academy who works with most children very well in general, too.

In addition, the sign for his name is associated with a specific animal that lives in the ocean. A marine-based creature, which is precisely a dolphin because of his signature ability, echolocation which is utilized by using sounds (and of course, chakra) to locate human beings and/or objects.

 **"Hey, Iruka-sensei!"** shouted Naruto as he greeted him with enthusiasm while he flashed a smile at him. Meanwhile, I was waving at Iruka-sensei while I flashed my toothy grin at him.

He waved back at us before he spoke and signed at the same time, **"Hey, Naruto and Kurisu!"**

Now that we were standing several feet in front of Iruka-sensei, he then shifts his attention to me before signing to me, **"How are you, Kurisu?"**

I nodded my head as I signed back to him with a smile on my face, **"I'm good, Iruka-sensei!"**

Iruka-sensei smiled at me in return and quickly spoke to Naruto about something. Naruto nodded his head in response and turned to me before he blurted out something to me, **"Hey, Obouto-san! I'm going up ahead, but I'll be waiting for you in class!"**

We both grinned and waved at each other momentarily as he ran past us and entered the Academy through the large, sturdy red doors. However, it took me moments to realize that Iruka-sensei was looking at me with a pained expression on his face causing me to raise one of my eyebrows at him in confusion.

 **"Kurisu, we need to talk..."** Iruka-sensei signed as he puts his arm around my shoulder to lead me toward a wooden bench nearby before we both sat on it.

 **"About what, Iruka?"** I signed back to him still confused as ever.

Iruka-sensei cleared his throat before attempting to facilitate the communication between us effectively as possible as he began to sign again to me, **"It's about your academy application. It has been rejected."**

My entire world and dreams was shattered violently in one mighty blow the moment I caught what Iruka-sensei just signed to me entirely. He also mentioned the reason my academy application got rejected. That reason was because of the fact I passed all of the three admission requirements EXCEPT for one. That is, having a healthy mind and body. Quivering, I looked at him wide-eyed unresponsive as if I was suddenly paralyzed throughout my body while trying to do what it takes to hold back my emotions and tears.

 **"Kurisu? Are you alright?"** Iruka-sensei signed that he's immediately concerned about my reactions and what would happen next.

I could no longer hold back the tears and overwhelming emotions which were becoming worse every passing minute and I felt like exploding internally. I began sobbing hysterically unaware of how loud I was being as I suddenly ran away in an instant from Iruka-sensei and sprinted through the front yard entrance of the Academy toward somewhere else leaving an upset Iruka-sensei behind.

 **"Kurisu! Dammit, I lost him! What should I do?"** Iruka-sensei snapped at himself. He began to contemplate momentarily before he suddenly got up to run inside the Academy to ask someone to temporarily substitute him for just today. After five minutes, he ran out of the academy in search of Naruto's brother...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Silent Guardian Awakens**

As I tore out of the entrance from the front yard of the Academy, I couldn't care less how people would react to a small child crying hysterically while he was running away from something just because my Academy application has been rejected. I was brawling my oceanic blue eyes out because I realized that I wouldn't be able to become a Shinobi like Onii-san was able to despite him being bullied by other people especially children often for a particular reason. Even worse, I also concluded that I wouldn't be able to join him on his personal journey to greatness not only as his dear brother, but also his classmate and teammate after all.

I continued sobbing more but harder as my crystal-clear tears dribbled out of my oceanic blue eyes while some made contact with my light neutral skin which quickly evaporated within a minute or so. The tears which came into contact with my clothes especially my blue shirt made blot-like stains while the the wet spots on my shoulders and chest began to darken a bit making the dark and slighter blue colors slightly contrast. It felt like it had been forever since I have been running non-stop unaware of what was going on around me because everything was practically a gigantic blur to me.

Before I realized it, I was standing on a slab of red bricks in front of an onyx-colored structure in the shape of a kunai with names engraved on it. I dropped to my knees panting heavily as I put both of my hands against the rough surface of the slab of bricks to keep myself balanced and continued to wail loudly out of anger and sadness. Still unaware of my surroundings, I felt something resting on one of my shoulders. I stood up in an instant, reflexively spinning around, startled, just to discover a deeply concerned Iruka-sensei standing in front of me.

I suddenly lunged toward him before he could say anything and wrapped my small arms around his slightly broad chest. I proceeded to bury my head in his arms sobbing hysterically again. Instinctively, Iruka-sensei wrapped one of his strong, sturdy arms around my small body and used the other one to stroke my head repeatedly while his fingers ran through my slightly wavy blonde hair in an attempt to calm me down.

Several hours has passed by even if it's noon already and I managed to calm down a bit with assistance from Iruka-sensei despite the fact I looked like an absolute mess due to my bloodshot oceanic blue eyes and the red, swollen areas around them. I finally took a couple of steps backward as Iruka-sensei let me go and looked at him to apologize as I signed to him, **"Iruka-sensei, I'm sorry for being like this."**

Iruka-sensei shook his head as he smiled before he signed back to me, **"It's okay, Kurisu. Do you feel a bit better now?"**

I shrugged my shoulders as I signed slightly sluggish, **"I think so, but I'm still sad."**

Iruka-sensei frowned a little bit and walked past me to sit on the slab of red bricks and made a 'come here' motion to me. I nodded my head at him as I walked toward the spot next to Iruka and sat besides him still slightly depressed.

He asked me a question, signing to me, **"Kurisu, have I told you one of my stories about when I was in the Academy?"**

I shook my head in response to him before he began preparing himself to tell his short story to me as he started signing slowly at the same time, **"I was seven when I first entered the Academy and I had recently lost my parents. I had a tough time fitting in and I was the class clown in my classes even though my classmates teased me just because I was different. I got in trouble often just because I wanted to be recognized by my classmates and other people. It was a tough time for me but everything somehow eventually became better for me in the end. That is of course, in a good way, and I'm thankful to have friends including you and Naruto."**

Once he was finished signing, his story imprinted deep within my mind elicited a small smile from me acknowledging the fact my sensei recognized Onii-san and I as his dear friends. I replied by signing back to Iruka-sensei as I flashed a small grin at him, **"I'm glad you're friends with both of us and I'm thankful for that as well."**

My response in return elicited a small grin from Iruka-sensei matching mine as we continued to converse with each other all day long.

* * *

It was almost sunset when Iruka-sensei realized that it was getting rather late and informed me that we should leave to go home. I let him know that I planned to stay here for a bit while to be alone and that I'd be coming home soon. Other than that, I also told him to let Onii-san know that I'll be coming home soon. He almost disagreed with my proposition despite him being extremely protective especially when it comes to Naruto and I, but reluctantly accepted it since he assumed that I needed to spend some time alone in order to collect my thoughts. He then departed thus leaving me alone at the memorial park by myself, and I continued to sit on the slab of red bricks as I watched the beautiful sunset disappear in the horizon gradually.

When I was finally finished admiring the lovely sunset, I gathered all of my courage and peeled myself away from the slab of red bricks surrounding the onyx-colored structure in the middle that I had been sitting on for a long time. I made grunting sounds as I got up on my feet and took a couple of steps away from the spot before I experienced an epiphany causing me to freeze momentarily. At that moment, I realized that I was the one holding the keys to the apartment. Without wasting a single minute or so, I began running back toward home to our apartment in hopes that Onii-san wouldn't go completely mental just because I forgot about the fact it's dinner time right now.

 _ **"** **Make a mental note to myself: get a duplicate copy of the keys for the apartment and give them to Onii-san."**_ I thought to myself.

When I finally got to the front door of our apartment on the top-level of the apartment building, I was panting and sweating heavily as my face quickly became red. Sweat rolled off the blond strands of my hair and the smooth surface of my forehead and face. I buckled as I took the opportunity to catch my breath while I was looking at the floor briefly before something in the corners of my eyes captivated my attention so I shifted my attention to the right as I straightened back up to see what it was.

I caught the sight of Naruto and Iruka-sensei walking toward me from the opposite side of the complex building on the same level at a short distance. I turned slightly to the left to face them completely. I raised my hand and arm up to wave at them excitedly although I knew they weren't paying attention to me. Based on my observations, they apparently seemed to be fully immersed in the conversations exchanged between them at the moment while they made gestures toward each other playfully. Once they realized that I was standing in front of them next to the entrance to our apartment waving, Naruto and Iruka-sensei waved back to me before Naruto ran toward me to give me a surprise hug and I somehow saw it coming so I braced myself beforehand.

 **"Otouto-san!"** He shouted with glee as he took a couple of steps backward. He began speaking quickly to me excitedly while I tried to catch every single word he said to me, **"Guess what? I had an awesome day at the academy on my first day and I got to make brand new friends! It was so cool! But, where were you? Why weren't you in class today? Did something happen to you?"**

It was quite overwhelming to absorb all of the information I gathered from Naruto by reading his lips but I somehow managed to succeed at making out what he just told me which caused something to twinge in my heart immediately. My facial expressions went from cheerful to completely somber in a matter of seconds as I shifted my attention from Naruto to Iruka who is now standing besides him and heard what he exactly said to me.

 _ **"** **So Iruka-sensei hasn't told him yet?"**_ I wondered to myself as I begged him through my oceanic blue eyes with a 'help me' facial expression to answer Onii-san's question for me.

Fortunately, he somehow picked up on my body language and interjected himself into our conversation with a gentle voice as he put one of his hands on Naruto's right shoulder causing him to turn around to look at Iruka-sensei, **"Hey, Naruto. Why don't I explain what happened today to your brother instead? He had a really long day today."**

I quietly sighed with a sense of relief since I was apparently not in the mood to explain to Onii-san about what exactly happened as I handed Iruka-sensei the apartment keys after he quickly signed to me that he needed the key so they both could let themselves into the apartment. They walked in the kitchen to sit at the table together once I came into the apartment through the front door which is linked to the kitchen directly and sharply turned left to walk through the kitchen door into the hall toward the bedroom, before I turned right to enter the bathroom.

It had been a really rough day for me today so I decided to strip myself naked and take a really quick shower which relieved some tensions in my muscles throughout my body helping me feel much more relaxed in the end. Once I was done, I turned off the water and grabbed one of the bathroom towels and quickly dried myself off. I slipped into my PJs and returned to the kitchen to find a very angry Naruto. I managed to catch what he said the moment I entered the room, but kept myself hidden so both of them wouldn't notice that I was observing them.

 **"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE CANNOT BE A SHINOBI?!"** Naruto roared angrily as he pounded both of his fists on the very surface of the sturdy, wooden table hard enough to make a loud thump sound which made me jump a bit. Iruka-sensei appeared to be making extra efforts to calm Naruto down, although it seems to be failing for some reason, as he continued to explain to him why I couldn't be able to become a Shinobi.

 **"Dammit, Iruka-sensei! Couldn't there be something you could do to help him?!"** Naruto shouted loudly. Iruka-sensei slowly shook his head in response to his question as I leaned against the wall next to the kitchen door, slumping a bit and feeling much more depressed than I ever have felt in my life.

Naruto was staring down at the floor intensely with despair plastered on his face before he quietly began to whisper softly, **"Iruka-sensei?"**

Iruka-sensei in turn, looked at him while he raised one of his eyebrows in wonderment, **"Uh?"**

Naruto began speaking softly to him again, **"Do you know my dream is to become the Hokage?"**

Iruka shook his head while he looked at him again incredulously with curiosity as he began wondering what Naruto was going to say next. At the same time, Naruto tensed his fists more as his fingernails dug into the skin of his palms until he drew blood unintentionally.

 **"I want to do everything in my power to help him become a Shinobi...even if that means having to give up my dreams of being the Hokage!"** Naruto exclaimed loudly so Iruka could hear what he said to him.

I gasped bewildered not understanding why Onii-san would give up his dreams just for me. Meanwhile, Iruka-sensei became confused about why Naruto would say such thing to Iruka-sensei so he presented him with a simple question in mind as he spoke to him firmly, **"Why would you give up your dreams just to help him achieve something that's considered impossible to do?"**

A big smile slowly crept on Naruto's face as he looked up to face Iruka before he struck his arm out in front of him. He then turned his fist counterclockwise slightly with his thumb sticking out as he spoke loudly with pride, **"It's...because he just happens to be my brother and brothers don't leave each other behind! Dattebayo!"**

Once he was finished speaking, he flashed his toothy smile at Iruka-sensei leaving him completely stunned.

 **"Naruto..."** Iruka finally whispered softly while being still in daze as crystal-clear tears seeped from my oceanic blue eyes before I began sobbing quietly because I was truly glad that I have a wonderful brother who just stuck up for me.

Iruka-sensei wasn't honestly prepared for his response as seeing that he was left completely stunned. Unbeknownst to me, Iruka-sensei knew Naruto was the host of the nine-tailed beast, Kyuubi and held displaced anger toward it which slowly began dissolving to absolute nothingness. He eventually began to look at him in a different light soon immediately after he finally was able to wrap his mind around what Naruto just told him.

To him, Naruto was now a human being with feelings who seemed to understand what the true meaning of family was about and that he was merely a victim like the others were from six years ago who deserved much better than he was given credit. Iruka then regained his composure before finally managing to speak up after noticing my presence as he began signing as he spoke, **"Okay, Naruto. I'll see what I can do for Kurisu."**

Naruto and I gasped happily before we both lunged at Iruka-sensei and tackled him down on the floor as he laughed with glee holding both of us in his arms because of Naruto's reaction to the fact he never noticed my presence the whole time.

* * *

Iruka had to depart for home since it was already ten at night and I took the opportunity to cook myself dinner while Onii-san went into the bathroom to take a long bath. I quickly consumed my dinner in record time, walked to the metallic sink to wash my dish, and put it in the dishwasher before I closed the lid carefully. Afterwards, I happily skipped in the hall through the kitchen door with a toothy smile and entered the bedroom before I jumped on the bed with joy acknowledging that Iruka-sensei was willing to see if he could do anything so I could finally become a Shinobi at last.

I cocked my head to the left to see Onii-san entering the bedroom in his PJs yawning sleepily as he crawled into bed next to me before I signed to him, **"You ready to sleep?"**

He nodded his head at me briefly and pretty soon, he was snoring loudly although I was fortunate to be Deaf so the fact he has a tendency to snore doesn't seem to bother me. However, I was having trouble sleeping not because of him, but rather due to being preoccupied with something that was on my mind so I silently slipped out of bed to head to the tiny balcony which was located at the end of the room in the opposite direction from our bed. I quickly opened the door and tried to close it as quietly as possible once I was outside then placed my hands on the metallic rail as I became lost in thought once I began star-gazing.

My most favorite part about star-gazing is how beautiful the star-clustered night skies are as a whole surrounding the luminous silver moon which bathes everything completely in pure, white moonlight. I might not be a nocturnal person, but it was so beautiful that I would definitely stay up all night long just to admire the beauty of the tiny stars and the large, silvery moon bursting and radiating with energy. Suddenly, I saw a shooting star zooming through the pitch-black night skies occupied by countless stars before remembering a sequence of imagery events popping into my mind afterwards.

* * *

[Flashback]

 **"Do you know what you should do when you see a shooting star?"** Iruka-sensei signed to me.

I shook my head and signed back to him, **"No, what should I do?"**

Iruka-sensei then smiled as he began to explain to me what I should do while he signed to me, **"Kurisu, whenever you see a shooting star, you should make a wish upon on it. If you do so, your wish could come true in the end."**

I was a little taken aback when he said that and replied back with curiosity as I signed rapidly with a slight grin on my face, **"Really, Iruka-sensei?!"**

Iruka-sensei smiled as he nodded his head in response to what I just inquired him and placed one of his hands on my head, rubbing it while he signed with his other hand, **"Yes, Kurisu."**

I immediately flashed him a toothy smile and I couldn't care less whether I looked like an idiot or not in front of him. I was merely glad just because I had a wish in mind that I hope would eventually come true someday. That is, to become a great Shinobi.

* * *

[Present Time]

I refocused my attention on the spot where the shooting star disappeared as I put my hands together to pray and made a wish before it was too late.

 _ **"Kami, I pray that I would be able to become a great Shinobi and succeed!"**_ I thought loudly to myself and before I knew it, moments has had passed by quickly and the winds had picked up, beginning to brush against my skin, and making me shiver a little as I quickly wrapped my arms around my chest.

Surely, it was getting cold outside since it was fall time already so I decided to head back inside before I crawl into my bed. I eventually fell asleep dreaming about what the future would hold for me as a Shinobi.

Meanwhile, a soft, feminine voice I failed to detect because I was already asleep long before then echoed gently into my mind, **"Your wish has been granted, my child."**


	4. Chapter 4

**Note #1** : I'm entirely unsure what the three symbols accurately represents in the English sense, but I'm quite sure I am pretty close to the most accurate English phrase which represents what the three symbols meant in Japanese so I apologize if I made an error translating all three of them.

 **Note #2** : In the Hokage's office, Iruka blushed briefly before his mind wondered somewhere else because the Sandaime Hokage was subtly complimenting him on how well he's doing as a father figure for Naruto and I just in case you guys are confused.

 **Note #3:** Hopefully, I described Honshu's eyes well. Just in case, they are striking similar to Kyuubi's eyes with the exception of Honshu's eyes which are silver instead of red.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Silent Guardian Speaks**

 _ **"Why does it feel a bit windy? Did I forget to close the bedroom door to the balcony?"**_ I thought to myself as I scrunched my face up in discomfort and annoyance while I tossed myself around a bit more.

Out of nowhere, a soft and feminine voice whispered to me, **"Wake up, my child."**

 ** _Wait, what's that voice? Where is it coming from? There's no way I can hear because I'm Deaf..._**

I shot my oceanic blue eyes open and before I knew it, I was on my back staring at the pitch-black skies covered with tiny, twinkling stars clustered throughout it almost covered by thick, green pine trees towering over me. I carefully moved my body suddenly feeling something brushing against the underside of my hands, arms, neck, and head immediately recognizing the touch right away as I thought to myself puzzled, **"** ** _Grass?"_**

I began to realize where I was despise the fact I was unsure of the specific location itself as I asked myself a certain question mentally, _ **"Wait, if I'm outside then...where am I?"**_

As if on cue, I got up on my feet and started scrutinizing my surroundings for a minute or so. It took me a moment for me to catch the sight of a sliver, furry, and abnormally large wolf with sliver, circular eyes consisted of vertical and black, slit-like pupils sitting on an enormous grey boulder as it stared at me from afar.

Up close, the sliver wolf apparently seems to be sporting ten sliver and fluffy elongated tails attached at the base of its rear instead of one which is uniquely atypical to me according to my knowledge of animals, making the situation much worse. Registering what I just saw before my oceanic blue eyes in my brain, I suddenly reacted fearfully by quickly raising my fists up to my chest fully prepared to defend myself against the mysterious creature in my presence. **"W-W-Who are you?! Why are y-y-you so H-H-HUGE?!"**

I finally spoke up loudly while putting an emphasis on the term 'huge' before realizing that I have spoken for the very first time in my life leaving me flabbergasted momentarily afterwards.

 **"Who am I, indeed?"** the mysterious creature spoke firmly as it suddenly leapt into the air from the grey boulder. It landed on a random spot gracefully near me before it began circling me carefully while it continued to observe me.

It finally creased its movement once it sat in front of me from few feet away and introduced itself to me with a firm voice, **"My child, my name is Honshu and I'm a bijuu which accounts for the rather massive size of my body. There's no need to worry as seeing that I won't attempt to harm you in any ways of means."**

I somehow managed to regain my composure quickly as I sighed with an extreme sense of relief. However, I wasn't able to comprehend the full meaning of the term 'bijuu' so I suddenly blurted out perplexed, **"Excuse me, but what's a bijuu, Honshu-san?"**

The sliver, magnificent wolf chuckled quietly as it revealed its pearly, razor-sharp, and dagger-like teeth though its ivory fangs seem to be larger than the rest of them making a knot form in my throat while I gulped nervously.

 **"Basically, I'm a beast consisted of chakra sealed in my host which is of course, you."** said Honshu-san as I nodded my head slowly before a realization hit me again.

 **"Wait, how can I understand what you're saying perfectly? How am I speaking?"** I exclaimed with curiosity as the mystical wolf cleared her throat and began to disclose the very reason why I was able to hear and speak.

 **"Well, you're able to speak since you're having a dream right now, but what is happening right now is real this time. Besides that,** **one of my abilities just happens to be telepathic communication** **since there's other beasts like me out there. In your case, you could use my ability to understand what humans are saying to you mentally even if they're out of range. You cannot understand** **they're thinking on the other hand as seeing that's considered abusing my abilities and a violation of privacy unless otherwise said."**

 **"In other words, you could say I'm willing to help you though I hope you see me more of a dear friend than a personal translator. However,** **it has been a long time since I have had last communicated with one of them except one. That is, the nine-tailed beast, Kyuubi which currently resides in your brother who's a jinchuriki like you are."**

I automatically nodded my head in response so she could see the fact I was agreeing with her terms and what she just explained to me regarding the use of her abilities which could eventually prove to be of great assistance to me. Even though I was aware of what she just conveyed to me, my mind was entirely on something else. My eyebrows furrowed as I attempt to proceed the last part of what Honshu-san said regarding the nine-tailed beast, Kyuubi. **_Where have I heard (saw) of it before?_**

My oceanic blue eyes widened as my mouth became slightly agape forming a shocked facial expression once I remembered the words I stringed together from reading strangers' lips whenever Onii-san was around. Almost at the same time shortly afterwards, I somehow was able to place all of the pieces together thus making the picture complete once I finally figured it out.

 ** _"_ _S_ _o that explains why people, especially children were acting rather strangely around him and treated him like he was some monster when he was actually the one suffering relentlessly behind his cheerful expressions. There were times I caught him crying in the bedroom whenever he was alone and put on his "false" face every time he heard me approaching the bedroom and I'd notice his slightly puffy eyes while he pretended to smile like nothing ever_** _ **happened."**_ I thought to myself.

 **"I see, Honshu-san."** I softly replied back as I continued to dwell on how much Onii-san has gone through pure hell ever since he was born causing me to feel guilty in an instant but at the same time, I chuckled quietly knowing that Onii-san would be too stubborn to come to me for comfort. After all, he's known for his excessive pride placed in himself and others that he considers his real friends including myself.

 **"What seems to be funny, Kurisu?"** the sliver wolf barked creating powerful sound vibrations snapping me out of reality.

When I came to my complete senses, I attempted to explain myself to her as I spoke firmly, **"I was just thinking about Onii-san, Honshu-san."**

Honshu-san then cracked a smile as she grinned at me with admiration before she spoke, **"So you're pretty fond of your brother, eh?"**

I quickly shouted at her beaming with confidence and certainty, **"Absolutely! He may drive me nuts, but I love him anyway. Dattebayo!"**

She chuckled loudly with glee as if she was completely satisfied with the answer I gave her before she gradually started bowing slightly toward me respectfully making me flinch a bit quizzically wondering what she was doing, **"Based on my observations, you are indeed trustworthy of being the vessel which holds me, the ten-tailed beast from within. As a reward, I'm going to help you become a very fine Shinobi from now on."**

I swore my mouth just dropped so hard that my chin could hit the ground as I struggled get myself together so I could answer her. Somehow, I managed to while stuttering as I bowed back in return respectfully to show my gratitude, **"T-T-Thank you,** **Honshu-san!"**

Honshu-san receded her head as she straightened her back at the same time to return to her original position and cleared her throat to speak firmly to me, **"Now, touch me and close your eyes then you shall receive your rewards, my child."**

I nodded my head and followed her instructions as I walked toward Honshu-san to put my arms around her. Of course, she was obviously way too large for my arms but she felt very soft and cuddly eliciting a huge grin from me as I closed my eyes feeling quite warm and comfortable. My eyelids gradually became heavier and heavier as time passed by and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

* * *

Although it was quite very late at night and almost everyone has retired to their comfy beds asleep in order to recharge their bodies, Iruka was still up as seeing that he seems to be walking toward the Hokage office through the long, narrow hall. Once he was at the door which lead to the Hokage office which the Third Hokage works in, he gently placed the backside of his hand against the sturdy, wooden door while his knuckles made contact with it creating a couple of thumping sounds. Moments passed by before a voice came from within the room through the tiny spaces between the wooden door and the plastered walls, **"Come in."**

Iruka grabbed the doorknob and turned it clockwise, opened the wooden door, and entered the spacious room as he closed it behind him. He walked to the center of the room and came a complete halt. The room itself was almost empty except for a long desk displaying a yellow board attached to the front-side of it with three symbols scrawled on it. The first symbol on the left side and the second symbol on the right side appeared to represent the term "Kage" while a Konoha symbol laid in the middle between both symbols.

Overall, the three symbols seemed to represent the possible following phrase "Hokage of Konohagakure". Besides that, there seemed to be scrolls, textbooks, letters, and such scattered everywhere on the desk and the floor near it. Of course, the person who was currently sitting at the desk was none other than the Sandaime Hokage himself, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

 **"Ah, Iruka! How nice it is to see you! What certainly brings you here late at this very hour?"** the Sandaime Hokage exclaimed as he laid his writing instrument down and put his hands together allowing the fingers to intermingle with each other.

At the same time, he rested his scruffy chin on both of his hands while his elbows made contact with the surface of the brown, wooden desk. From Iruka-sensei's perspective, he appeared to be resting his arms which continued to be slightly tense to support his head as he flashed a small smile at Iruka. He seemed to be still wearing his Hokage robe minus the Hokage's hat as seeing that he always busy all the time. Hearing the Sandaime Hokage greeting him with enthusiasm elicited a friendly smile from Iruka as he replied back warmly while bowing at him respectfully for a very brief time, **"Same to you, Hokage-sama! However, I'm here because I would like to make a special request and I hope you'll be able to consider it."**

The Sandaime Hokage began to look at Iruka with a sense of earnestness before speaking firmly, **"What would your special request be then, Iruka?"**

Iruka then cleared his throat before proceeding to state his special request as he spoke with a serious tone, **"Hokage-sama, I would like to take Kurisu, Naruto's brother under my wing and be his teacher at the academy until he graduates."**

The Sandaime Hokage didn't interrupt what Iruka just mentioned to him. He instead, allowed Iruka to continue by nodding his head in addition to a simple hand gesture letting him know that he was still interested in comprehending why Iruka was willing to make such interesting request.

Iruka picked up on his body language and continued to speak firmly while stating the reason behind his special request, **"The reason why I'm fully qualified to perform such task is because I possess several abilities besides Sign Language which could be of great assistance to Kurisu enabling him to function normally as a Shinobi. In fact, he seems to possess remarkable abilities and deemed capable of being a Shinobi based on my observations. However, I would like to put him through special training while he sees a Shinobi specialist who just happens to specialize in speech therapy so he could receive the opportunity to integrate himself into the communities and lead the best life he could possibly have from now on, Hokage-sama."**

When he was done, he waited a couple of moments for the Sandaime Hokage to finish contemplating before he finally inquired Iruka a question completely intrigued, **"What made you decide to make such compelling request, Iruka?"**

Iruka flinched a bit as he started rubbing the backside of his neck with one of his hands sheepishly for a moment. He eventually made a stern facial expression as he spoke with a serious tone, **"Well, you see...it just happens that Kuriu's brother, Naruto was the one who's behind this. We had an argument earlier on tonight about how Kurisu wasn't able to become a Shinobi. It seems that he refused to accept the fact his brother wasn't able to become a Shinobi like him and tried his best to persuade me. He never stopped giving up, no matter what I told him, Hokage-sama."**

The Sandaime Hokage chuckled quietly already aware of how stubborn Naruto could be before he spoke firmly. He also knew Naruto was successful in persuading Iruka to resort to making a special request to him, **"So I assume he was successful in persuading you, correct?"**

Iruka nodded his head feeling rather embarrassed that such a small child was able to make a powerful impact on him and Iruka was an adult who's much more capable than Naruto was, **"Yes, Naruto indeed did, Hokage-sama. In fact, he made me realize how much he cares about his brother even if he's the only family member Naruto only had. He mentioned that he also was willing to sacrifice his dreams including becoming the Hokage just so his brother could become a Shinobi."**

Iruka then smiled afterwards knowing how proud he is of Naruto and the fact Kurisu was indeed very lucky to have such a great brother. Upon on hearing what Iruka had to say to him regarding how Naruto managed to persuade such a strict Shinobi, he bursted out chuckling loudly with glee suddenly startling Iruka a bit as he exclaimed, **"Well, well, that's quite interesting to hear that from you, Iruka! Naruto never seems to cease to surprise me. After all, he is indeed a special child, eh?"**

The Sandaime Hokage winks at Iruka afterwards pleased that he was having an interesting conversation with Iruka right now, and causing him to react by blushing briefly. Apparently, he seemed to have no choices in this matter, but to accept Iruka's special request with caution. However, Iruka was instantly snapped out of reality and refocused his attention on the Sandaime Hokage once he cleared his throat rather loudly and began to relay his message verbally with a serious tone as he straightened up slightly, **"Very well, Iruka! I hereby accept your special request then. However, if your mission in helping Kurisu become a Genin isn't successful, he cannot become a Shinobi. Do you understand what I'm saying, Iruka?"**

Iruka quickly bowed formally toward the Sandaime Hokage respectfully as he replied back loudly before he receded his head and straightened his back completely, **"Yes, I completely understand you, Hokage-sama!"**

The Sandaime Hokage then flashed a small grin at him as he spoke firmly, **"Excellent! Oh, and congratulations on becoming Kurisu's teacher, Iruka."**

Iruka was overjoyed acknowledging the fact the Sandaime Hokage surprisingly accepted his special request as he bowed toward him once again respectfully and spoke loudly, **"Thank you and have a good night, Hokage-sama!"**

He receded his head back as he straightened his back up for the second time before departing the Hokage's office. Now that he was finally alone at last, he pulled out his bronze-colored pipe and lighted up the bowl in the middle creating tiny, white wisps of smoke which was curling upwards toward the ceiling. He began contemplating very deeply already lost in his own thoughts already.

 ** _"_ _If Naruto is indeed a special child, then perhaps it's a possibility that Kurisu is also a special child as well. After all, both of them are related to each other in a sense that they are actually cousins, not brothers. Both of them are still unaware of this yet they behave like they're practically brothers and obviously seems to care for each other deeply."_** he thought to himself while he smiled. He then inhaled the smoke and blew it out of his mouth and nose creating a circular smoke which rose up above his head toward the ceiling and eventually dissipated into nothingness in the end.

 **"I guess we'll have to see what happens then, eh? Perhaps, it's quite a high possibility he's also full of surprises like his cousin, Naruto, normally is as well."** the Sandaime Hokage chuckled to himself before he returned to his affairs to complete whatever he was working on from earlier on before Iruka came in the Hokage's office. It turned out the wise Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen was apparently right in the end about Kurisu being a special child.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: First Day at the Academy**

It was already early in the morning when I opened my eyes to witness Onii-san leaning over my face and body while sitting on our queen-sized bed with his legs crossed next to me. He apparently decided to wake me up in the most unnecessary manner by bouncing up and down hyperactively while he shook my shoulders impulsively in order to awaken me from my deep slumber. I made a couple of loud, grunting sounds as I moved my back up forward to lean against the wall. I then turned my head to face him while I rubbed both of my eyes groggily not fully awake yet and out of nowhere, Onii-san burst out laughing as he pointed his finger at my head.

I had woken up with a bad case of bedhead, which he obviously thought was quite hilarious.

 **"** _ **Is this his idea of waking me up the wrong way even if he already knew that I should be awakened in the most gentle way possible?** "_ I thought to myself slightly annoyed.

As if on impulse, I suddenly grabbed both of his tender cheeks covered by his black whiskers and started stretching them apart as I tugged on them playfully to fulfill my sweet revenge. Onii-san immediately reacted to my actions by yowling in pain as he flailed his arms, **"Ow, ow, ow! Obouto-san, you're hurting me so stop it! OUCH! You're such a meanie!"**

A huge, evil grin crept over my lower face as I shook my head in glee before I continued to tug on his cheeks firmly for a couple of minutes just to watch him suffer in pain. However, I decided to finally let both of them go soon before I went too far with my revenge. Onii-san then quickly raised his hands to his face to massage the red blotched areas on his cheeks that I inflicted upon on him as he made a cute, pouty facial expression at me as an attempt to persuade me from not doing it again.

I honestly thought about doing it again, but decided to not do it, deciding that he received sufficient punishment for waking me up the wrong way before teasing me because I woke up with a terrible bedhead. But once again, I already have admitted to myself in the past that I truly enjoyed teasing and torturing Onii-san as a way of showing my extra affection for him in a brotherly way.

Suddenly, both of us cocked our heads to the right realizing that someone was at our apartment door. I was fully aware that Onii-san was able to acknowledge whether an individual is at our apartment door because that person either knocked on the door, pressed the doorbell, or did both. At the same time, I became confused after realizing what I had done, and began wondering how I was able to sense the individual's presence, because I had never done this before in my life. I felt Onii-san's hand resting on my shoulder, so I turned my head to face him again before he began signing to me, **"Someone's at the door so I'll get it for us, Obouto-san!"**

I quickly nodded my head at Onii-san as he flashed a grin at me before he jumped out of his bed in his boxers and ran through the hallway to the kitchen so he could open the door.

While Onii-san was gone, I was already in deep thoughts still wondering how it was possible for me to detect the individual's presence based on what just happened moments ago.

 ** _"It's entirely possible that I could have detected the individual's presence via vibrations. Yep, that's probably it. That is a good thing."_** I thought to myself as I smiled completely convinced that my explanation was reasonably valid and perfectly logical in the same sense.

I grinned to myself happily as I hopped off the queen-sized bed and landed on the floor on my feet with a soft thumping sound. I walked to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Once I was finally in the bathroom, I stood in front of the metallic sink and large mirror before I took my PJ shirt off and dropped it on the floor. Before I took my PJ pants off, I decided to take a moment to move my right waist up in front of me so I could briefly examine the odd birthmark imprinted on it.

It looked like a crescent moon shaped by a thin, black-inked outline surrounding it. However, I wasn't able to exactly recall when I first acquired it. At some point about several years after my birth when I first became self-aware of myself, I started assuming that I was born with it. I began hiding it by wrapping a small, black bandana around my right waist when I was very young. In other words, I was very self-conscious about my birthmark and didn't want to be teased because of it in addition to my profound deafness, so I began concealing it every day only when I was in public.

 **"You know, you shouldn't be ashamed of who you truly are, Kurisu."** a soft, feminine voice echoed into my mind out of nowhere, causing me to yelp loudly as I jumped slightly completely surprised.

At that moment, I was frozen in place, unsure what was happening as the soft, feminine voice spoke to me again, **"Kurisu, please don't tell me you forgot about the dream you had last night which was, in fact, real."**

For some reason my instincts told me to close my eyes so I went ahead and closed my eyes while I tried to remember the dream I had from last night. Suddenly, the memories of the dream came back rushing to me as I gasped loudly dumbfounded. It took me a couple of moments to recover before I prepared myself to communicate with her. I began transmitting my response to Honshu-san mentally as I smiled embarrassedly, looking like a total idiot while I rubbed the base of my neck with one of my hands at the same time, ** _"I remember now! You're the ten-tailed beast, Honshu who came to me in my dream and granted my wish!"_**

Honshu-san sighed with a sense of relief as she spoke, **"Excellent, my child. It looks like you finally remembered since you're fully awake right now as well. Now, the birthmark on your right wrist is an ancient symbol indicating that you're the host of the ten-tailed beast, which is of course, me. It may not look like an ancient symbol, but it's considered important in regards to the legend."**

My mouth was slightly agape as I slowly nodded fully understanding what she just conveyed to me before I felt a series of vibrations coming from the wooden door. It seemed that Onii-san was knocking on the door because he probably heard my loud reaction. I quickly ran to the door and opened it which revealed a concerned Naruto who began signing and speaking as soon as I opened the door.

 **"Obouto-san, are you alright?!"** Onii-san exclaimed out of concernment.

I quickly nodded my head innocently trying to throw him off since he started squinting his eyes at me the entire time which can be annoying sometimes after I assured him that I was absolutely fine. At the same time, I knew he was scanning the whole room briefly while a sweatdrop gradually rolled down one of my head and is now hanging by the thread from my chin.

 **"Okay, then! Oh, and Iruka-sensei's here! He wants to talk to you about something, Obouto-san!"** Onii-san grinned ear to ear as he flailed his arms before he immediately left for the kitchen leaving me behind in a slight daze.

I slowly closed the door in autopilot mode and resumed what I was doing while I began contemplating to myself, _ **"He's here? I wonder what is it he wanted to talk to me about? Wait, could it be that..."**_

I was no longer in autopilot mode because I had already finished taking my shower and was drying myself off. I dressed myself, completely conscious of what was happening around me once again. I came out quickly of the bathroom wearing a white shirt, a light and black sleeveless jacket with a hoodie, tan khaki shorts, and blue ninja sandals as I turned right to head for the kitchen brimming with energy. Iruka was sitting in one of the chairs when I entered the room anxiously before he waved to greet me as he signed to me, **"Hey, Kurisu! How did you sleep?"**

I signed back to him briskly as I grinned widely, **"Great! So I heard from Onii-san that you're here because you have something to tell me."**

Iruka nodded his head as he signed before he pointed at something on the end of the table opposite from where he was sitting, **"Yes, I do! However, I decided to do the honor of making breakfast for both of you though Naruto already ate his so you should eat first beforehand."**

I walked to the end of the table and pulled the chair back slightly before I sat and began eating the breakfast Iruka made for me. When I was finished, I got up to dispose of the paper plate in the garbage can and came back to sit down again. However, it took me moments to finally get comfortable after calming myself because I was a bit nervous before Iruka eventually started grinning warmly as he signed to me again, **"Okay, buddy. I have good news for you and I want you to know that your academy application has been accepted thanks to the Third Hokage."**

I breathed sharply taking the full impact of the good news that Iruka just disclosed to me with my mouth slightly agape as a grin slowly replaced it before I rapidly signed to him, **"Are you serious, Iruka-sensei?!** "

Iruka chuckled as he nodded his head again, **"I am serious, Kurisu."**

He could see my oceanic blue eyes lighten up in an instant and before he knew it, I jumped out of my chair and lunged for him without thinking as I proceeded to wrap my arms around his neck to hug him to show my deep gratitude. Of course, he was so surprised at first because I can be unpredictable at times. Fortunately, he didn't mind it because he decided to savor the beautiful moment by gently putting his arms around my small body and held me close to his body. He smiled to himself acknowledging the fact he succeeded in being a good father figure and did what he was supposed to do the way a parent would do for his own child's happiness.

I finally released my hold on his body before I took a couple of steps backward to look at Iruka-sensei as I asked him a question while I signed excitedly, **"When does my** **first day at the academy start?"**

Iruka-sensei could sense my eagerness easily because of how I have been acting since he first told him the good news as he signed back to me, **"** **Today if you want to, Kurisu."**

Once I saw what he signed to me, I nodded my head ecstatically as I signed rapidly, **"Yes, Iruka-sensei! I would like to start today, please!"**

Iruka-sensei started chuckling again since I obviously remind him of my brother because we're somewhat similar physically and mentally with some differences between us. He began signing to me carefully, **"Okay, it's settled then! Your class doesn't start until 9:00am so be sure to arrive there on time, Kurisu. Now, I have to go and prepare for your arrival so I'll see you by then."**

I nodded my head excitedly confirming what he just told me as he got up on his feet and pushed the chair forward so it could be placed in its original position once again. Before I could do anything, he raised one of his hands to his upper chest with all of his fingers and thumb bent except for his forefinger and middle finger which was barely touching his chin and he winked at me before disappearing in a large puff of smoke and leaving me in complete amazement. It took longer than I thought to regain my composure because I was very fascinated by what Iruka-sensei did earlier on when he disappeared at that moment. I instantly started jumping around the kitchen with my fists in the air full of gleefulness.

It didn't take me long to notice that Onii-san was standing at the doorway of the kitchen door still grinning ear to ear, already aware of what was going on as I stopped jumping to run to him so I could hug him to show my appreciation. When I was done, I pulled back to sign at him to let him know I'm grateful, **"It's all thanks to you and I'm glad you're my brother, Onii-san!"**

Onii-san reacted to my compliment by resting one of his hand against the back of his head rubbing it out of embarrassment while he blushed slightly. At the same time, he spoke to me in a lively manner, **"It's no problem, Obouto-san! After all, you're my brother! Dattebayo!"**

I grinned more widely back at him thus somehow matching my facial expression with his while we continued to share a brotherly moment between us.

It was 8:45am when both of us arrived at the Academy even if it was considered too early for class sessions to be held at this hour. I was nervous again, but for a completely different reason since it was basically my first day being at the Academy. My heart was pounding hard as it raced vigorously and I felt like my heart was literally going to burst out of my chest any second once I started walking through the large, red, and sturdy doors revealing a long, narrow hallway before my oceanic blue eyes.

Onii-san had already gone ahead to his class after he waved to me as he walked away from me. I was alone though I knew I would be fine because Iruka-sensei would eventually find me anyway. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure where I was supposed to be because he didn't tell me which classroom I would be in and curiosity got the best of me so I decided to peek in each classroom. It seems that every classroom in the building are quite large and have high ceilings. In fact, the size and the width of classrooms I recently witnessed so far are quite impressive to me.

I wasn't exactly paying attention to where I was going after I peeked into a particular classroom because someone came out of nowhere randomly and ran into me in the middle of the long, narrow hallway. Before I knew it, I was instantly knocked backward roughly. I fell on my butt with my eyes shut making a couple of loud, thudding sounds.

Afterwards, I slowly opened my oceanic blue eyes as I started rubbing my sore butt before realizing what exactly just happened moments ago. My eyes started trailing from the floor around me to a certain person in front of me sprawled on the floor on his back.

The olive-skinned boy suddenly sat up as he bent his back forward with red flames burning in his eyes while while he furrowed his eyebrows in anger before he proceeded to shout loudly at me in a rather rude manner, **"HEY! Watch where you're goin-"**

For some reason, he stopped speaking abruptly when he realized that I was sitting on my butt wincing slightly in agony which was obvious by the painful facial expression plastered on my face. His eyes covered by his spiky, brunette hair then wandered from my face to my hands, wrists, lower arms, and elbows which sustained minor abrasions that I suffered physically from the incident. He quickly stood up as I watched him before he struggled to apologize to me.

He started mumbling as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands nervously, **"Erm...I-I-I'm sorry if I caused you trouble! M-M-My mother will definitely kill me if I ever got into trouble!"**

He quickly bowed to me before he retracted his back up revealing his piercingly chocolate, slit-like eyes now unconcealed by his spiky, brunette hair. He appeared to be wearing a tan shirt and a pair of grey shorts along with his blue ninja sandals. The most prominent feature regarding his appearance were his two red, tattoo-like triangles as seeing that each one seemed to be imprinted invertedly on both sides of his cheeks.

 **"Need help, man?"** he asked me as he flashed his pearly white smile at me, I nodded my head. Before I knew it, he extended his arm and hand to me. I extended my own hand and arm so I could grab ahold of his hand. He began pulling me off the floor allowing me to catch my balance as I got back on my feet.

I was still in a daze and I had to blink twice while I got the opportunity to get a closer look at his pearly white teeth. According to my observations, his pearly white teeth are canine-like especially the fact he just happened to possess two sets of ivory fangs although one pair seem to be slightly larger than the other pair. From my own perspective, he somehow resembled a dog which I honestly thought was either cool or quite very intimidating.

Almost instantly, I was brought back to reality once I realized that he was shouting at me loudly again, **"Hey! You're staring and this is the thanks I get from you?!"**

I flinched nervously at his reaction and pulled out a notebook out of my small backpack so I could scribble down something before I handed him the notebook. At the same time, he was slightly tilting his head sideways confused by what I was doing as he raised one of his eyebrows at me. When I finally handed him it, he grabbed the notebook with an extremely annoyed facial expression on his face as he began reading what I scribbled down.

When he got the opportunity to read it, he took a single glance at the following words that I scribbled on the piece of paper attached to the notebook: **I'm sorry, I cannot speak and I'm Deaf. I can read lips but go easy on me, please.**

I could easily tell that my response immediately elicited a surprised reaction from him at first before he eventually started feeling very guilty, based the shifting in his facial expressions. His face formed a straight facial expression as his steely, chocolate eyes gradually became soft and gentle over a short period spanning a minute or so.

He moved his head slightly to look at me as he mumbled again, but softly this time, **"I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to be rude to you so will you forgive me?"**

After I nodded my head at him, he began speaking excitedly as he formed one of his hands in a fist before he brought his fist to his chest touching it with his thumb which was sticking out meanwhile. At the same time, he flashed his canine-like smile at me as he spoke in an almost arrogant way, **"Heh! Now that is settled, my name is Kiba Inuzuka! What's your name, buddy?"**

I take the notebook from his hands and scribbled something else down before handing the notebook back him. He took the time to scan the following words that I scribbled down on the same piece of paper attached to my notebook: **Kurisu Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you, Kiba Inuzuka!**

A small grin slowly crept on his face as he extended his hand toward to me so he could grab ahold of my hand before he began shaking it cordially. He then opened his mouth slightly as he began speaking normally to me, **"Well, it's nice to meet you...Kurisu Uzumaki."**

I was already grinning like crazy because after we introduced ourselves to each other before we shook hands, I realized that I just made my very first friend at the Academy today. At that moment, I also had a compelling feeling that we would eventually become best friends much sooner than I originally thought. I had to explain to him afterwards that I was lost on my first day at the Academy looking for Iruka-sensei so he offered to be my guide while we both looked for him together.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for both us to locate Iruka-sensei once he appeared into the long, narrow hall way out of nowhere and started waving to catch both of our attention. When he was finally within range, he began signing to me as he spoke with a smile on his face, **"Hey, Kurisu! I see you made a new friend already. How do you like the Academy so far by the way?"**

I nodded happily as I signed back to him with a huge grin on my face, **"Yeah, it's totally awesome! Dattebayo!"**

Iruka-sensei grinned back at me before turning to Kiba before he began signing as he spoke firmly, **"Kiba, it's almost time for class so you should go right now."**

After Iruka-sensei finished speaking, Kiba realized that he had to go to class since it was almost time before he bowed at both of us respectfully. He then flashed his goofy grin at me as he waved at me before he ran down the long and narrow hallway to his classroom. After he disappeared into the horizon, Iruka-sensei turned to me and signed to me carefully, **"As for you, I set up a very special classroom for you to attend to your studies and I had to pull several strings so you could have access to everything without any issues. Now, follow me then, Kurisu."**

He started to turn around before he walked toward to the end of the hallway while I followed him from behind. Without anyone noticing, the wounds I sustained already had healed completely as I headed down the long, narrow hallway. Once we got there, Iruka-sensei came to a complete halt and slided the green door open before I briefly took a peek inside the classroom besides him by ducking my head inside through the green door out of curiosity. Based on my observations, it wasn't exactly like any other classrooms in the building in the Academy because it was much smaller than it seemed to me. It was in fact, quite large enough to hold several seats that could seat about ten students or more.

After all, the room could possibly be considered self-sufficient to be classified as a classroom since there's a large blackboard in front of the classroom as well. I decided to take the seat in front of the classroom in the middle so I could see everything which could prove to be quite advantageous academically as Iruka-sensei closed the green door behind him. He proceeded to walk to the wooden, sturdy podium which is located in the middle of the classroom in front of the blackboard and got on it as he faced me. He cleared his throat and began speaking as he signed to me with a serious expression on his face, **"Hello, Kurisu! As you're already aware of this, my name is Iruka Umino. However, I'll be your teacher at the Academy from now on starting today!"**

Watching him being theatrical as he signed in a very expressive way with a serious undertone elicited a huge grin from me not only because he's going to be my primary teacher. It was also because I knew that my studies at the Academy beginning today was going to be an incredible experience from now on since I always have wanted to become an Academy student. That is, so I could finally accompany Onii-san on our personal journey together toward being highly respected Shinobis like Iruka-sensei is at last.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note #1** : Both us are currently around 11-12 years old just in case you guys are unsure based on the phrase between two brackets in the beginning.

 **Note #2** : Please don't flame me, but I decided to start writing jutsus in English from now on so my readers will have an easier time understanding what they mean. Besides that, I'm unable to translate the terms for my original jutsus from English to Japanese which was also the reason behind my ulterior motive to write jutsus in English as I go along with my story.

 **Note #3** : I made a huge error regarding when the graduation exam was supposed to take place. However, I wasn't able to determine that so I'm going to leave it to your guys' imaginations since everyone actually graduated at 12 years old in the show.

 **Note #4** : I realized that one of Honshu's abilities actually mirror Karin's unique ability, Mind's Eye of the Kaguya so a plausible explanation will be presented much later in the sequel when Karin is first introduced.

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Graduation Exam**

[Time Skip: 6 Years Later]

It had been six years ever since Iruka-sensei became my teacher, after my Academy application was accepted by the Third Hokage so I could finally become a student at the Konoha Academy. Besides that, Iruka-sensei introduced me to a Shinobi speech therapist at the beginning who taught me how to utilize my speech skills so I would be able to speak verbally and hold decent conversations with other people. It was very challenging at first, but I somehow was able to break through the barriers thanks to Honshu-san. She was more than willing to provide an ample amount of assistance by letting me use her unique abilities respectfully to succeed especially in my studies at the Academy without anyone's knowledge.

To Iruka-sensei's and everyone else's surprise, my latent passion and determination quickly emerged before reaching a certain point shortly after I began attending the Academy. Iruka-sensei was undoubtedly convinced that I was a true prodigy at first so I had to persuade and reassure him later on that I had an extensive amount of motivation and willpower. In other words, I told him that I wasn't a true prodigy, but rather a genius of hard work because I worked so hard to get where I wanted to be. That is, so I could prove to others that a Shinobi like me with a disability can be completely capable of defending his village with great honor and finally be able to be recognized by others for who I am at last.

In fact, I proceeded so rapidly in my studies that I completed and passed all of my classes in only four years at ten years old, which was considered very impressive despite the fact Iruka-sensei decided that I should spend another two years at the Academy in the end. Of course, the reason for that was according to my Shinobi speech therapist's strong recommendations which Iruka-sensei seriously took under his advisement so I could fully master my speech and social skills. He also advised Iruka-sensei that I should meet as many people as I could and get to know them including the Jonins that planned on becoming senseis for the brand-new teams in my graduation class.

As for Onii-san and I, we were fortunately, placed into the same graduation class although it took him six years to complete and pass all of his classes because he was struggling with his studies. Ever worse, he was being stubborn and absolutely refused to let everyone including me help him with his studies. Once he found out that I supposedly was going to graduate in a year, he eventually came around before he went to me to plead for my help. I naturally approved his request since not only he was my brother, he was also my classmate even if we were taught separately and I didn't want to see him fail miserably in his classes. Even though I didn't officially graduate after the fourth year because it took me two additional years to reach my personal goals while I attended my therapy sessions, assisting Onii-san with his studies was worth the time spent during my last two years at the Academy.

He was no longer the totally idiotic brother I once knew from before because I was able to figure out how to tutor him since we both possessed the same types of learning styles. He was of course, able to learn how to absorb information properly while keeping his studies fun and entertaining when we both studied together or with some of our friends thanks to some assistance I received from Iruka-sensei. Two years later, my results regarding him being tutored by me yielded in him being an average student who was slightly smarter than he was six years ago even though he still had his idiotic moments. I still loved having him as my Onii-san and I wouldn't trade him for anything else in the whole world.

As six years went by, I immediately got the opportunity to know Honshu-san personally and to be honest, it was a surprisingly pleasant experience. For example, I was able to fully create and master my very own, unique signature ability derived from Iruka-sensei's signature ability, echolocation which allowed me to locate human beings, animals, and objects simply just by using chakra. However, I made an astonishing discovery afterwards which was fully relevant to Honshu-san after I managed to succeed in completing this task. Honshu-san was apparently testing whether I was able to succeed in performing this task or not before she revealed one of her unique abilities to me, Divination of the Guardian's Third Eye.

According to what Honshu-san said, I was born with a sixth sense unlike many people didn't possess which naturally made up for my lack of hearing in return as a result. Precisely, the unique ability is an almost exact reflection of one of the most superior Kekkei Genkais present in Konoha, the Byakugan. Rather than using my actual eyes, I was told to depend on my invisible third eye which psychically takes place on my forehead above both of my eyes. The capacity of this ability was extensive that not only I was blessed with the ability to sense chakra signatures with remarkable details, I was also able to fully extend the perimeters around me to a vast distance of 6.2 miles. Unfortunately, the limit of this particular ability was that it only offered me a vision field of 210 degrees in total which was better than not having this ability at all.

She then mentioned to me that briefly after we first met, a dome consisted of blue chakra acting as a sensory barrier became present before it fully surrounded me invisibly and had been existing ever since then. It turned out that I was also blessed with one of her unique abilities, Divination of the Guardian's Barrier. I was informed that the sensory barrier allows me to detect enemy movements once they pass through it. I was also able to pinpoint which directions they are coming from and the size and shape of the sensory barrier depending on the territory I'm in could be adjusted automatically. However, the limit of the radius of the sensory barrier was about 0.5 mile or less so it could be utilized effectively in combat especially when it comes to short-range attacks.

On top of that, one of her best abilities included cloaking, which is the ability to fully conceal and erase her presence from others making it look like my chakra network was merely ordinary. Regardless, the only way for the bijuu to be recognized was if I entered the partial miniature stage. Fortunately, I was ironically still blessed with this third ability because so few people had the knowledge of this particular bijuu, almost everyone will undoubtedly mistake me for having a Kekkei Genkai instead of being a jinchuriki host based on my altered appearance.

I eventually found out the real reason why she possessed several abilities including those three ones which was because she was an artificial and spiritual bijuu thus making her vastly different from others in term of her defense mechanisms. In one of her stories that she read to me from within my deep, vast mind while I was dreaming, she was created by her original creator, who was a Sage, in order to combat Kaguya Otsutsuki's back-up plan. At the same time, she was created with defensive abilities in order to drastically increase her chances of preventing the resurrection of its evil counterpart, the ten-tailed beast in addition to Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Apart from that, I thought it was a good idea to hone my memory and speech skills by narrating the bedtime stories to Onii-san every night until he fell asleep. Of course, with the exception of stories that involved Honshu-san or the legend itself and I was careful to not disclose information regarding the fact he was the current host of the nine-tailed beast. That is, until he was completely ready to know the ultimate truth about who he truly was.

Despite the fact the original creator was unable to make her equally powerful as its evil counterpart because of unforeseen circumstances, she ended up being slightly powerful than the nine-tailed beast equipped with ancient jutsus and defense mechanisms instead. Besides that, I finally learned that I was originally born in a distant land rumored to be created by the very same Sage who created her in the first place.

I even questioned her several times because I was being curious, but Honshu-san claimed that she possessed no knowledge of such thing due to being sealed for a long time. There were times that I became suspicious very briefly and instead of accusing her of omitting certain information, I decided to not do so. In the past six years at some point, I eventually stopped asking her certain questions and began fully trusting her. After all, she was practically there for me every single time especially when I wanted to discuss about particular topics I couldn't be able to with anyone else.

Lastly, she was entrusted with personal missions by the original creator himself before his death. One of her personal missions of uttermost importance was to collect all of the nine bijuus and possibly, the jinchurikis as well and transport them to the same distant land I was born in. According to Honshu-san, it was also rumored that the barrier which surrounded the location was immensely powerful that it was able to ward off about anyone and only few people had the ability to bypass it. Somehow by fate, Onii-san was one of the jinchurikis so I was left with about eight other bijuus I need to track down using her fourth ability in addition to her first ability, Bijuu Sensing.

Anyway, enough about that. The day I had been waiting for many years had finally arrived at last. Today was the day Onii-san and I got to take the written and practical exam in hopes that we would be able to graduate from the Konoha Academy together today, too.

* * *

It was indeed a bright, warm day even if it was close to the season of fall time once again in Konoha. However, most children including myself and Onii-san weren't playing and enjoying the beautiful weather and clean, fresh air for one particular reason. That was because we were in our respective classrooms during this time of hour which was considered very normal except that today was entirely different for an obvious reason.

A small portion of us were currently waiting in a spacious classroom with high ceilings patiently for turns to finally take the practical exam which was taken in one of the offices on the second floor within the Academy building. The practical exam itself, was in fact, one of the major requirements which must be passed in order to successfully graduate from the Academy officially before the Academy student was able to become a Genin. The other major requirement was the written exam which the other children including Onii-san and I already took.

It was a nerve-wrecking process so far, but at least I had plenty of time review for the written and practical exam and also got the opportunity to assist Onii-san with his studies by helping him prepare for both exams as well. As for Onii-san, he apparently somehow got through the written exam with some problems, but was able to complete it before he turned it in on time. As for me, it was a breeze because I technically graduated two years ago at the Academy. I was already done with my classes so I ended up devoting my time toward reviewing my materials, going through special trainings Iruka-sensei put me through, and of course, my therapy sessions with my Shinobi speech therapist. Besides that, Iruka-sensei also decided to let me learn basic information only Genins would have such knowledge of that Academy students didn't normally possess so I could get an early head-start just in case I ended up getting behind in the beginning as a Genin.

* * *

 **"Ahhh! I cannot wait any longer, Obouto-san!"** Onii-san exclaimed as he sat in his seat fidgeting with his fingers and hands feeling impatient and annoyed already.

I prodded his tender cheek with one of my finger while I was sitting next to him to the right facing him before I chuckled, **"Onii-san, do you know you can be quite impatient, right?"**

He sent a glare directly at me before he grumbled slightly loudly as he crossed both of his arms, **"Yeah, yeah, I just wanna get over with already so I can finally become a Genin! It's going to be totally awesome to do missions and such! Dattebayo!"**

His cute, annoyed response elicited a small laughter from me as I stopped prodding his cheek and started signing as I spoke to him, **"You're definitely right, Onii-san. It's definitely going to be totally sweet once we finally become Genins! Dattebayo!"**

He took a single glance at me and blinked before his straight mouth facial expression was quickly replaced by a huge grin. Almost instantly, both of us was already grinning widely at each other with glee as we exchanged a fist bump with each other.

Most of the children had already taken the practical exam so there were a handful of us left in the classroom still waiting for our turns and pretty soon, we both eventually ended up being the last two person remaining. Suddenly, the green door which led to this particular room opened abruptly without any warnings making a loud creaking sound as a very familiar person we both recognized instantly stepped into the classroom with a friendly smile on his face. Of course, that person who stepped into the classroom before our eyes just happened to be Iruka-sensei, one of the few Chuunins who ended up administering the practical exam to academy students.

It had been six years and he hadn't changed a lot physically and still kept his long, brunette hair tied up neatly into a ponytail while he continued to sport an old scar that ran on the bridge of his nose he sustained when he was younger. On the other hand, he had changed a lot mentally because of his experiences with me and Onii-san as a teacher and a father figure who wished nothing, but happiness and success for both of us. He opened his mouth slightly as he firmly announced the name of the Academy student who was going to take the practical exam next, **"Kurisu Uzumaki!"**

I reacted by immediately standing up from my seat quickly, but the way I moved wasn't fast enough for me to experience a short dizziness spell.

 **" _I cannot believe it's finally my turn to take the practical exam at last!"_** I thought as I smiled happily to myself because it was no longer necessary for me to wait anymore.

Once I began walking away from my seat toward the entrance in the corner of the classroom on the right, I felt Onii-san grabbing me by the wrist as an attempt to catch my attention. I was already able to sense it coming based on his body movements thanks to one of Honshu-san's unique abilities. I began assuming that he had something important to say to me before I left the classroom so I turned around to face him as he spoke loudly to me, **"Obouto-san!"**

 **"What is it, Onii-san?"** I finally spoke to Onii-san while I raised one of my eyebrows quizzically as I signed.

 **"Good luck on the exam,"** Onii-san mumbled softly to me as he signed before I smile widely in return. However, once I was about to say something verbally in return, I noticed that he had an almost unreadable faciall expression on his face which immediately concerned me the moment I saw it and began frowning.

 **"Is something wrong, Onii-san?"** I inquired him curiously still frowning wondering if something was wrong.

He looked up at me from his seat as he began fidgeting with his fingers sadly. He eventually began speaking again, but softly this time with a pair of glazed oceanic blue eyes, **"What if I fail the exam and don't become a Genin, Obouto-san?"**

I paused for a moment before laying one of my hands on his left shoulder which surprised him in the process as I spoke firmly in a loud voice hoping that I would put him in good spirits, **"You won't fail the exam. After all, you worked hard to get this far and I believe in you as well, Onii-san. Dattebayo!"**

He suddenly cocked his head up slightly to refocus his attention on me shocked before a big grin crept on his face slowly. He stood up from his seat and spoke loudly within earshot so Iruka-sensei could hear him on purpose before he proceeded to give me his thumb-up signal as he flashed his infamous smile, **"You're right! I shouldn't be worried because I definitely can pass the exam. Dattebayo!"**

The fact I successfully put him in good spirits elicited a big grin from Iruka-sensei and I while both of us did a fist bump for the second time. Afterwards, I left the classroom with Iruka-sensei while I mentally beckoned my fate which was already awaiting for me in the other room where the practical exam would be administered.

Before I knew it, I was in the office-room on the second floor while Iruka-sensei and a different Chuunin were already in their seats behind a one large, wooden table in the room getting prepared to administer me the practical exam.

What piqued my interest at first about this Chuunin who was sitting to Iruka-sensei was his appearance which seemed to be striking similar to Iruka-sensei's in terms of their articles of clothings they both were wearing right now: standard Shinobi outfits, blue ninja sandals, and green flak jackets. However, the only differences were how they both looked physically was because the second person seemed to not be wearing a forehead protector at the moment. In fact, his hair appeared to be long, thick, and white which was puzzling because not many young around here had hair similar to his according to my memories.

Once he set his eyes on me without speaking, something about his onyx-colored eyes sent cold chills down my spine. They looked entirely different from Iruka-sensei's amber eyes which almost always seemed soft and caring to others, while this man's eyes were cold and distant. Perhaps, his personality was different from Iruka-sensei's and the fact he probably liked to be around people he only trusted. I naturally made that assumption based on how friendly he was behaving toward my sensei because of personal experiences I had with Onii-san in the past which caused us to trust very few people besides Iruka-sensei and each other as a result.

Sadly, I was wrong once I took a much closer look at him by using my sixth sense besides the fact I was trained to read body languages. To my surprise, I discovered that this Chuunin wasn't who he seemed to be based on the way he was talking to Iruka-sensei at the moment. The way he was behaving toward my sensei was as if his acting were merely a facade, nothing more or less. That and the fact I also sensed an evil aura emitting from him making me shiver slightly in the process.

 **"Kurisu, this Chuunin isn't who he seems to be so be careful. His eyes speak of evil intentions."** a soft, feminine voice spoke from out of nowhere which of course, belonged to Honshu-san almost startling me because I was so deep in my own thoughts.

 ** _"Yeah, I noticed that already so I'll be careful, Honshu-san."_** I quickly spoke to her mentally before being interrupted by the two Chuunins, who were still unaware of what I was doing at the moment.

Iruka-sensei cleared his voice loudly before he spoke firmly as he signed to me, **"Are you ready to take the practical exam, Kurisu?"**

I nodded my head as I spoke to reassure him that I am completely prepared to take the practical exam, **"Yes, Iruka-sensei! I'm prepared to take it!"**

He grinned at me as he started signing carefully while he spoke at the same time, **"Alright! What you have to do to pass the practical exam is to perform the Clone Technique and create a clone or more capable of defending you and itself (themselves)!"**

I took a deep breath as I brought my two hands together before I performed the appropriate jutsu in front of them.

 ** _"Clone Technique_** ** _!"_** I thought to myself as I summoned my clones besides me accurately representing me physically and mentally.

Unfortunately, I somehow seemed to accidentally summon not only three, but ten clones instead surprising myself in the process leaving Iruka-sensei and the other Chuunin astonished and perplexed at the same time. I grunted silently realizing that I made a grave mistake of accidentally summoning ten clones instead of three clones because I was preoccupied with Onii-san on my mind the whole time.

I was precisely preoccupied by the fact his birthday just happens to be on the 10th of October which was also in less than two months as well. I somehow imagined approximately ten clones instead of three clones and risked exposing myself to both of them as result. They would in return, start assuming how I was able to do that effortlessly. The irony was that it was practically my very first time creating ten clones although I had experiences with creating three to five clones many times in the past.

 **"Bravo, Kurisu!"** Iruka-sensei and I was instantly brought to reality after realizing that the other Chuunin had finally spoken with a grin on his face that looked quite unappealing to me before he paused for a moment.

At that moment, he cocked his head slightly at Iruka-sensei without moving his body as he spoke again, **"So the rumors are true then. The student of yours is truly a prodigy, Iruka-kun. It's no wonder why you decided to convince him to stay at the Academy for another two years."**

His response elicited a blush from a dumbfounded Iruka as he struggled to find the correct words to explain what just happened moments ago, **"I-I-If you say so, Mizuki. But, I wouldn't call him a prodigy since he worked so hard to get this far despite losing his hearing shortly after birth. I would rather instead consider him a genius of hard work."**

I was trying so hard to hide my dumbfounded face which apparently matched Iruka-sensei's although I managed to calm myself down as I sighed with relief acknowledging the fact Mizuki naturally assumed that I was a prodigy, but for the entirely wrong reason.

 ** _"Shoot, that was close, Honshu-san..."_** I mumbled to Honshu-san without losing my concentration or hold on the Clone Technique which was currently in effect.

 **"Well, at least they didn't figure it out, Kurisu."** Honshu-san chuckled with glee because she thought what I did was quite amusing as her soft laughter echoed into my mind. I twitched a bit slightly because I seriously thought she would end up disciplining me afterwards, but I guess I was wrong. I shook my head slightly, hoping they'd not notice my strange behavior before releasing the jutsu as the clones disappeared into large puffs of white smoke.

When Iruka finally came to his complete senses, he scribbled something down on the paper in front of him. He then stood up before he cleared his throat to speak firmly with a serious tone in his voice, **"The practical exam has been concluded. I would like to proudly announce that you have passed the written and practical exam. Furthermore, you are now a Genin and a graduate of the Academy, Kurisu."**

Once I learned what my fate held for me based on Iruka-sensei just said to me, I smiled really widely before I suddenly jumped with both of my fists in the air. However, I noticed that he made a 'come here' motion so I stopped what I was doing once I landed on my feet. I blinked quizzically before I walked to the table wondering what was it he wanted to talk to me about. At the same time, Iruka-sensei picked up a brand-new blue forehand protector from the surface of the wooden table in one of the corners in front of me and handed to me.

He placed one of his hands on my head as he spoke softly to me, **"This is a forehead protector you wear which indicates that you graduated from the academy."**

Tears slowly started rolling down his cheeks as he struggled to speak again as he signed to me, **"I'm so proud of you and I always have thought of you and Naruto as my sons, Kurisu."**

At that moment, I was truly touched by what Iruka-sensei told me so without any second thoughts, I suddenly lunged forward as I wrapped my arms around his neck and embraced him gently. Of course, Iruka-sensei wasn't surprised when I decided to randomly do that out of nowhere especially when it came to emotional moments because he was so used to me and Onii-san doing that.

It felt forever to me while we continued to embrace each other until Mizuki who was sitting next to us cleared his throat, **"Ahem."**

Both of us suddenly flinched causing me to take a couple of steps backwards before I wiped the tears off my face as Iruka-sensei did the same. He began apologizing to Mizuki sincerely for taking so long. However, Mizuki seemed to be pretending to be sincere as he proceeded to accept the apology from Iruka-sensei while he was secretly brushing the whole thing off like it meant nothing to him. I decided to let that slide because I naturally assumed that he wanted to get this task done for the day already since there's only one more Academy student for both of them to administer to which was of course, my Onii-san.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Mizuki Strikes!**

After I left the office already sporting my brand-new forehead protector, Iruka-sensei was still profoundly emotional as he continued to stand up next to his seat.

Mizuki was musing the whole time I was gone before he finally uttered something to Iruka-sensei while he bit his lower lip firmly, **"Need a moment, Iruka-kun? If you would like me to, I'll administer the practical exam to Naruto and I promise I will go easy on him."**

Iruka-sensei turned his head towards him and he spoke with a soft tone, **"Yeah. That would be great, Mizuki. I appreciate that."**

He placed one of his hands on Mizuki's right shoulder momentarily as he smiled at him. Then he walked out of the office to find somewhere else quiet to recollect his thoughts and himself. It was true that Iruka-sensei experienced an emotional moment with me. Even though he never gave up on me and was there for me and Naruto every single step of the way, he never thought in his wildest dreams he would see me graduate from the Academy and become a Genin.

Therefore, he was truly joyous that I somehow was able to achieve my main goal and graduate from the Konoha Academy so I could finally become a highly respected Shinobi and follow my dreams at last.

It was considered common knowledge that very few children with disabilities were able to successfully get accepted into the Academy. Not to mention the fact it was much more rare for a kid with a disability to graduate from the Academy as well. I learned later on that I was the youngest Konoha Academy student in history with a legitimate disability to achieve both within a short period of time. It was regarded as a huge feat, and quickly became one of the hottest topics among locals around here in Konoha. Interestingly, there was one particular topic that intrigued me the most despite the fact I haven't met him yet: a certain Academy student who just happened to be the last survivor of the Uchiha clan ended up graduating at the top of our graduation class.

Once Iruka-sensei was gone, a vile grin slowly crept on Mizuki's face as his onyx-colored eyes became venomous every passing second before he whispered to himself, **"It finally begins then. Hehehehe!"**

He cackled evilly, but not loud enough to be within earshot of anyone close by as he began preparing himself to proceed with the master plan he had devised. He had to wait patiently for a long time until he would eventually capture the right opportunity to finally initiate the first step in toward his master plan. He reminded himself at the same time that he must be methodical and calculating in order to pull the whole thing off or otherwise, he would end up screwing himself big time. His grand master plan would be all for nothing and he wouldn't be able to attain his goal in the end. The goal was of course, to obtain the Scroll of Sealing he greatly coveted the most in order to gain access to a myriad of forbidden jutsus with unbelievable powers beyond his dreams and imaginations.

I was sitting in my seat in my old classroom meanwhile, which was situated at the end of the hall way on the first floor reminiscing about the good times I had while I was an Academy student. I was taking my sweet time while I gradually scanned everything surrounding me including the classroom with my ocean blue eyes since it held a sentimental value to me. Some people would consider a particular object his or her most prized possession. As for me, I had admitted this to few people including Onii-san and Iruka-sensei, but I was a huge sucker for nostalgic memories. I tended to favor certain memories of myself spending time with people who are very precious to me the most, too. Moreover, those memories are considered one of my most prized possessions and the ones I cherish the most involved spending time with my best friend.

At that moment, I decided to close my eyes as one of my most cherished memories came forth from the very corner of my deep, vast mind out of the darkness. I began playing the memory like I was practically watching a short movie from a first-rate seat easily within reach of the invisible screen.

* * *

[Flashback: 4 Years Ago]

It was a quite typical day at the Konoha Academy and I was sitting in class absorbing the information Iruka-sensei provided with his lectures as he spoke and signed to me. He also decided to use the blackboard behind him as a visual aid just in case I wasn't able to understand something. Thanks to Iruka-sensei who resorted to using unique approaches, it was easy to comprehend my lessons since he was able to fully grasp the idea I was more of a visual person especially when it came to my studies.

Those methods would be considered unorthodox because they were somewhat different from the ones normally used to teach other academy students in a much more traditional sense. However, they proved to be very effective for me so I was able to excel in all of my classes with almost no issues as a result. On the other hand, it was true that I got bored at times and became mischievous, I still managed to keep Onii-san and myself out of trouble at times even if I failed to sometimes since we both were mostly similar.

We both were known to possess huge appetites for attention and the need to be recognized by others to the point it got out of hands sometimes. Fortunately, we both managed to focus on watching each other's backs while we kept each other busy like siblings are supposed to do. There were unfortunately, some moments when we didn't agree for ridiculous reasons and sometimes got into altercations with each other as well. Luckily, we always managed to make up in the end and everything eventually went back to normal as we acted completely as if nothing happened between us.

Today was one of those days I'll undoubtedly never forget because of what happened in the classroom between Iruka-sensei and Kiba. It was rather what I mentioned to Iruka-sensei after standing up to him when he was about to discipline my best friend. To be precise, he got in trouble that day because he broke one of the rules just so he could practically see me.

Ever since I first met him, we became fast friends despite the fact almost none of the other children was interested in making friends with him. They were afraid of being near him because he used to be a bully who got into the wrong kind of crowds. He wanted to be accepted by others just by being someone he truly wasn't and I was the one who changed his life forever after we began hanging out.

When he asked me why I wasn't exactly like the other children, I told him that I wasn't afraid of him because I had a brother who just happened to be like him, but for an entirely different reason. I was honestly surprised when Kiba finally revealed that he was fully aware of the fact my brother was the host of the nine-tailed beast. He was one of few people in Konoha who pitied him because he knew how it feels to be lonely and have no friends to play with. Afterwards, I had to request him to keep my knowledge of my brother being a jinchuuriki a secret until I was ready to tell everyone and he gladly accepted it. I ended up never regretting doing that because I indeed was fortuitous to end up being best friends with one of the most loyal students in my Onii-san's class.

Apart from that, I haven't told anyone including my best friend about my biggest secret regarding the fact I was a jinchuriki. Based on my observations, I figured it was best to wait until everything became much better for Onii-san although it'll probably take a long time for the majority of the locals in Konoha to fully accept him for who he was. Somewhere in my guts connected to my sixth sense, I had an odd feeling at some point that everyone including Onii-san were bound to learn who I truly was slightly sooner than I originally thought.

I chuckled at myself aloud inwardly at that moment as I naively pushed the strange feeling away in retaliation. I haughtily reassured myself that there was absolutely no way in hell that would happen before it was my time to finally tell everyone the truth. After all, everyone and Onii-san still haven't noticed I was a jinchuriki due to one of Honshu's unique abilities which enabled her to reside inside me undetected. The exception was that it was not transferred to me for some reason so I assumed that suspicions would quickly arise if I acquired that particular ability as well.

While I was paying attention to what Iruka-sensei was conveying to me as he signed, it was about thirty minutes before lunch began. At the same time, I was rather becoming bored and sluggish because not only I was a visual learner, I was also a kinesthetic learner and loved learning by using both of my hands, too.

Suddenly, I sensed something slowly approaching one of the windows thanks to one of my Honshu's abilities. I shifted my head slightly to the left to catch the sight of a grinning Kiba waving at me while he flashed his canine-teeth. Upon on the discovery of my best friend, I realized he was crouching outside between a couple of large, green, and bushy shrubs and the window in the middle. While Iruka-sensei was writing something on the blackboard in front of him, I rose my hands up a bit as I signed carefully without speaking, **"Kiba, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?"**

Even although Kiba wasn't quite fluent as I was, he managed to learn a lot in the past two years since we first met. He was the one who insisted on learning Sign Language so he could get to know me better as a friend. Besides that, he thought it was cool to communicate by using Sign Language since only a few people know it. That way, we were able to talk about anything in public we didn't want others to know about. We would normally talk while we signed to each other so I could learn how to master my speech skills while he could learn how to master his signing skills at the same time.

Kiba scoffed playfully as he began signing back to me hoping that I wouldn't freak out, **"Geez, man! I wanted to leave class early so I could see my best friend!"**

I was still frankly a bit concerned about him possibly getting caught. However, seeing what he signed to me, a huge grin crept on my face almost immediately. I was glad that I have a loyal friend who was waiting for me to be finished with my lessons before lunch break began for both of us.

Briefly, I nodded my head at my best friend, but broke the eye contact with him once I realized that Iruka-sensei was about to turn around to resume his lecturing. I quickly made the same facial expression my face was displaying previously before I discovered Kiba in hopes that Iruka-sensei wouldn't notice what was going on. At the same time, I tried to scan for Kiba in the very corners of my eyes, but he was already gone by then.

I naturally assumed at that moment he probably ducked in order to avoid being detected by Iruka-sensei since he was still on my radar. I sighed with a sense of relief acknowledging the fact Iruka-sensei failed to detect my best friend. Alas, Kiba seemed to be having a really hard time not trying to make sounds because he could barely move between the shrubs and the white, plastered wall. In addition to that, he was being poked externally in various areas throughout his body by thick, green leaves. They were gradually making him have crazy urges to itch the affected areas since he was in an uncomfortable position.

Out of nowhere, he began having the urge to sneeze so he inhaled before covering his mouth with one of his hands. He then squeezed the bridge of his nose gently with his forefinger and thumb in hopes of successfully stopping himself from sneezing. He soon realized that what he tried to do in order to prevent himself from sneezing appeared to not be successful so far. He proceeded to exhale as he sneezed loudly outside of the classroom window, **"Ah...ah...ah...ACHOO!"**

Iruka-sensei froze momentarily before he noticed that the loud noise seemed to originate somewhere from outside the windows. He quickly tip-toed toward the window quietly as possible and opened it before he pulled out an unsuspecting Kiba from out of the shrubs. He ended up landing on the wooden floor with a loud, thudding sound after being pulled into the classroom through the window Iruka-sensei opened.

 **"Well, well, what do we have here?"** said a furious Iruka-sensei with his arms crossed towering over a nervous Kiba while he tapped one of his feet against the wooden floor.

Once Iruka-sensei recognized the unsuspecting intruder, he spoke in a firm, but irritated tone, **"Kiba Inuzuka, what are YOU doing out of class? You should in class until lunch break starts."**

I was frozen in place because of how enraged Iruka-sensei was being at the moment and he can be quite frightening when he gets mad. There were times when I witnessed Iruka-sensei becoming so angry that Onii-san practically ran away screaming nonsense out of fear while I was rooted to the same spot the whole time. I thought I pissed myself afterwards because I was sweating non-stop.

Heck, I even noticed that Kiba was quivering while he sweated profusely because he knew how pissed off Iruka-sensei was going to be at this point when he got caught.

 **"Since you broke one of the rules by sneaking out of class 15 minutes before lunch break eventually begins, I should punish you, Kiba."** Iruka-sensei growled at Kiba.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Kiba with my arms and legs spread out like I was about do jumping jacks not realizing what I had done.

I spoke loudly as I signed, **"Iruka-sensei, please don't punish him!"**

It seemed that I somehow found the courage to stand up to Iruka-sensei even if my heart was pounding really hard and loudly right now that I could almost hear my own heartbeat pulsing from within my chest.

Of course, Kiba and Iruka-sensei was completely shocked when that happened. However, Iruka-sensei managed to recover his composure before he spoke to me in a firm tone while signing, **"Kiba broke one of the rules so why would I decide to not punish him, Kurisu?"**

I sighed as I signed to him, **"If you decide to punish him, then please punish me as well."**

Iruka-sensei was incredibly confused, but decided to sign back to me anyway, **"Why would you want me to punish you, too, Kurisu?"**

I thought very carefully before I began signing carefully to ensure he could understand what I'm signing to him entirely, **"** **It's because he's my best friend. Best friends stand up for each other and I'm glad I have a best friend who cherishes me for who I am. Even if I'm different from from others, he makes me feel like I'm accepted, not an outcast. I honestly don't know to do because without Kiba and Onii-san, I would be alone."**

When I was finished signing, Iruka-sensei had an agape facial expression on his face and it took a minute for him to recover his composure again for the second time. His facial expressions immediately changed after he recovered which was replaced with a set of gentle-looking chocolate eyes and his mouth forming a straight line. He bent his legs so he could communicate with both of us at eye-level as he reached out to rub my head gently while being in deep thoughts almost making me flinch.

Unbeknownst to Kiba and I, Iruka-sensei was contemplating about how he had an incredibly rough childhood and had to endure being alone with nobody to depend on or go to except for the Third Hokage. As a father-figure and a very close friend, he wished for this to not happen to either Onii-san or me so he made a decision regarding whether to punish Kiba and me or not.

The silence was finally shattered once Iruka was snapped out of his deep thoughts and gently spoke as he signed, **"Alright, I have decided that I'm going to let Kiba Inuzuka slide this time, Kurisu. After all, it's almost lunch break so why don't you both go now?"**

A huge smile crept on Kiba's and my face as I quickly signed to him while Kiba spoke at the same time to thank him. We both then scrambled out of the classroom together happily which caused Iruka-sensei to react by rolling his eyes as he chuckled softly, **"Boys..."**

* * *

[Flashback Ends: Present Day]

The memory clip ended before it retreated back into the corner of my mind as I chuckled to myself quietly. I quickly stopped chuckling once I noticed something hiding within the depth an almost empty plastic bag in the brown wastebasket. It seemed to be a crumbled piece of white paper which wasn't definitely there before I took the written exam today.

I walked to it before I bent my legs in order to pick up the crumpled piece of white paper and started uncrumbling it as I made sure to make the paper flat by using the edge of my desk as well. Once I was done, I flipped the crinkly paper over to discover that it was a graded written exam paper with a 75% marked at the top. My eyes shifted to the top-right corner of the paper to find a particular name written in a very familiar handwriting I recognized instantly.

" ** _What is Onii-san's graded written exam paper doing in the wastebasket IN my old classroom?_** " I mumbled to myself mentally while trying to find a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.

Out of nowhere, I decided to bring the paper close to my face as I started smelling the paper before I caught a distinct scent emitting from it which was awfully familiar to me. My oceanic blue eyes suddenly widened when I realized that the other Chuunin, Muzuki could possibly be involved because he was only the other one who graded the exams and Iruka-sensei would never do this to Onii-san. Other than that, the scent which was emitting from the paper belonged to Mizuki thus proving the point that he was behind this for some reason.

I muttered angrily to myself mentally as I try to calm myself down **,** ** _"Suppose Mizuki is somehow involved, but for what reasons?"_**

Regardless of whatever reasons Mizuki has to dispose of Onii-san's graded written exam on purpose, they couldn't be good. I quickly folded the paper up until it was small enough to fit into one of my front pockets before I ran out of the classroom in search of Onii-san. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the office where I took the second exam in so I decided to look outside since those who took the two exams get to leave early for the day.

I ran through the entrance of the Academy to a significantly large crowd of people consisted of adults and children before I came to a complete halt and scanned the whole yard for Onii-san in hopes of being able to find him outside where I assumed he would be. It took me moments before I was finally able to find Onii-san, but it wasn't honestly what I quite expected because once I located him visually, my heart was profoundly broken by what I witnessed with my own oceanic blue eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note #1** : I sincerely apologize for taking this long to complete, revise, and post this chapter. I have been incredibly busy preparing myself for finals at my university and I was struck with a mild case of fatigue and the blues at the same time. Of course, that normally occurs to me around the last three weeks of college every semester so it's nothing to worry about.

I admit to being rather tense and lethargic lately that I had a difficult time finishing this chapter. The good news is that I am almost back to normal as seeing that I only have two finals to take in the next two days. As a result, I'll finally be able to speed up the progress with no issues once the semester is over on 5/20/16. Thank you for the patience and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The Brothers Strike Back! (Part 1)**

Onii-san was crouching with his back slightly bent forward while his forehead and nearly both of his eyes were covered by his blond, spiky hair. At the same time, he was straddling a rectangular and wooden swing sideways. I managed to catch a glimpse of his expression and gasped softly. He had the saddest expression I have ever witnessed in my whole life on his face, and it was truly heart-breaking to see him like this.

He was holding one of the braided fabric ropes designated to keep the wooden seat afloat midair. It was almost as if he was trying his best to support his despondent body. I immediately reacted by slowly walking to him at first as my speed eventually started picking up allowing me to go faster than I anticipated out of fear and deep concernment for him. Before I knew it, I was fully embracing Onii-san so I could comfort him.

Despite the fact I already was experiencing a horrendous feeling which was also lurking in my heart ever since I first encountered Mizuki in the office before I took the practical exam, I continued to hold him without saying anything.

 **"Onii-san?** " I finally whispered softly hoping that I would catch his attention, but my voice was easily overpowered by the loud, sobbing noises Onii-san was making while he kept his blond, spiky hair and face buried into my chest.

I was able to quickly figure out what was going on because once I repeated what I uttered to him previously slightly louder than before. Onii-san finally lifted his head slowly to look at me. He was obviously grief-stricken. Clear, wet tears continued to stream out of both of his oceanic blue eyes as they rolled down his face and cheeks. I hated to admit it, but he looked like a total mess. Though he only had been crying for a short period of time, the areas around his eyes were slightly red and swollen as well.

From the depth of my mind, I was shaking my head while I kicked myself mentally because I couldn't stand seeing him in such an awful state. However, I realized that I needed to ask him a certain question in order to confirm my suspicions about Mizuki so I snapped myself out of my deep thoughts. I instantly started preparing myself to inquire him, then proceeded to speak as I signed, **"Onii-san, would you like to explain what happened when you took the exam?"**

There was absolute silence between us for a minute or so before he finally managed to nod his head. He then began to disclose the details to me regarding what exactly occurred to him in the office when he took the practical exam. After he was finished, I nodded my head in response as I began analyzing the situation in hopes that I would find clues which could prove the fact Mizuki may be indeed, scheming something behind everyone's back, including Iruka-sensei's.

I furrowed my forehead forming wrinkles between both of my eyes which were already closed as I muttered to myself mentally, _ **"Based on what he told me, he took the exam and summoned only one clone that was considered passable. However, Iruka-sensei mentioned that the other students who took the exam was able to summon three or more clones. As a result, he decided to not pass him. However, Mizuki took pity on Onii-san and attempted to convince Iruka-sensei to let him pass, but failed to."**_

I continued to contemplate, but something interestingly significant suddenly popped into my mind thus interrupting this process. I had an important epiphany derived from that thought itself.

In fact, I realized that I actually saw Iruka-sensei somewhere else on the way to my old classroom. At the time I saw him, I believed he was supposed to be in the office with Mizuki when the practical exam was administered to Onii-san in the office, but I shrugged it off because I merely thought he was taking a brief break beforehand.

 _ **"Wait a minute! Could it be possible that Mizuki somehow rigged the practical exam without Iruka-sensei possibly knowing?"**_ I mused to myself trying to figure out how he was able to do it and succeed ed without being caught.

Once I finally figured out how he was able to rig the practical exam, my eyes widened slightly as I softly muttered to myself, **"He used the Clone Technique and Onii-san didn't even detect it the whole damn time."**

I was still aware of Onii-san's presence though I wasn't actually aware that he was within earshot. Onii-san started flailing both of his arms as he clamored loudly in annoyance, **"Obouto-san, what are you talking about? You're not making sense!"**

After I regained my composure, I refocused my attention on him and smiled widely at him. I placed both of my hands on his shoulders to stop him from flailing before I proclaimed loudly, **"Onii-san! I think I know how to fix this so you could graduate from the Academy with me!"**

My announcement left him with a agape expression on his face. He quickly wiped his face to get rid of the sweat and tears with one of his arms before revealing a huge grin on his face. He refocused his attention on me and hastily responded loudly as he signed, **"Really, Obouto-san?! How?!"**

I didn't really want to explain to him how I was going to fix the situation, but I was able to figure how to answer his question subtly as possible. I opened my mouth a bit to speak as I signed carefully, **"Well, if you want me to, I'll talk to Iruka-sensei for you and I'm sure I'll be able to convince him. However, I'll have to do this by myself. Is that alright, Onii-san?"**

When I was finished explaining to Onii-san what I needed to do, Onii-san began grinning wider as he began nodding his head. He flailed his arms again as he hollered at me, **"Yeah! I'm honestly glad you're my brother, Obouto-san! Dattebayo!"**

He suddenly wrapped his arms around me as he hugged me excitedly, surprising me in the process. His actions elicited a huge grin from me as soon as he began embracing me and boy, I was surely glad I have him as my brother, too. However, I had to take actions immediately so I mumbled something to Onii-san quickly, **"Onii-san? If you want me to fix this, then you need to let me go."**

Onii-san seemed to be having a hard time comprehending what I was saying. Of course, his handhold around my chest was rather tight thus straining my ability to speak and breath as a result. Fortunately, he was somehow able to catch what I said to him in time. He quickly uttered loudly as he let me go before he rubbed the back of his head with his hand sheepishly, **"Oh? I'm sorry, Obouto-san!"**

At the same, I immediately caught wind of multiple sentences scattered in the winds which drifted into my mind from behind. Apparently, two women seemed to be having a conversation with mentions of us.

 **"Hey, isn't that kid the only one that failed?"** a person inquired someone else as she spoke softly with a firm tone.

 **"Yeah, he's better off not being a ninja because who knows what happens if he decides to betray our village?"** said another person.

 **"I feel sorry for his brother, because of his disability and the fact he was lumped with that mons-"** said the first person from before.

 **"Quiet! You're not supposed say that word according to the decree imposed upon on us. Don't you know that everyone except the kid and his brother are aware of the rule?"** the second person hissed at the other person quietly.

 **"My apologies. However, something about his brother honestly bothers me. It's the fact he was somehow able to graduate from the Academy despite the fact he doesn't have a bloodline limit ability like that top rookie of the year has."** the first person muttered quietly.

The second person clears her voice again before she spoke quietly, **"Well, now that I think about it..."**

 **"Based on what I heard, his skills seemed to rival those of the last remaining member of the Uchiha Clan. Of course, that would be Sasuke Uchiha, who** **just happened to be the top rookie of the year in his graduation class."**

The first person gasped quietly while she tried to proceed what she just heard from the other person. She managed to speak softly as she stuttered slightly, **"N-N-No way..."**

The second person nodded her head affirmatively and before both of them realized it, I was staring while I gave them a dirty look not because of how they talked about me, but because of how they were talking about Onii-san. They instantly shut their mouths and looked away nervously hoping that I didn't catch everything they exchanged in their conversation. Perhaps, they might have thought about whether I was able to read their lips or not at some point. It appeared that they quickly regarded that theory because they were already on their ways with their businesses.

I turned around to face Onii-san to notice that his face expression hasn't changed. I sighed with a sense of relief grateful that he didn't get wind of what both women mentioned about from before. He was finally his old self again since he was smiling cheerily at me. Apparently, that was because I promised him that I would do everything in my powers to fix the situation so he could be able to graduate from the Academy at last.

I prodded him on the forehead to catch his attention before I spoke and signed to him, **"Hey, Onii-san! I'll be right back in a flash!"**

He nodded his head at me as I secretly took the opportunity to create a single clone which was now lurking behind the large tree once I was finishing signing without anyone or Onii-san noticing its presence. I turned around to walk toward the large, red and sturdy doors so I could enter the Academy while I communicated with my clone mentally and telepathically, ** _"Keep an eye on him and if Mizuki takes my brother with him, follow him quietly as possible. Once Onii-san is alone, follow him instead because I have a certain hunch about Mizuki."_**

The clone nodded in return obeying my orders directly as I entered the Academy building slightly less worried than before because I had my clone keep an eye on Onii-san for me. To be honest, that wasn't the first time I have performed this task because I had done it countless in the past since I first entered the Academy. It wasn't that I was paranoid, I was rather protective toward Onii-san when it came to him being alone. I wasn't able to be around him sometimes on account of being needed somewhere else instead of being with him. He apparently wasn't able to go almost anywhere else without being harassed by others so I finally decided to use the clone technique so I could be in two places while honing my skills at the same time.

I also had to use the transformation technique occasionally to fully deter dangerous situations from possibly arising so Onii-san wouldn't be harmed. I was quite lucky to be in possession of a huge accumulation of additional chakra reserves I naturally inherited from the bijuu, Honshu-san, being sealed within me after birth. With my remarkable concentration and chakra control, I was able to effortlessly generate level-E ranked jutsus without any issues. I had no issues executing them, the only issue with those jutsus were based on the length of time the jutsus were currently in effect for which was considered problematic in the beginning.

For example, when I first executed the transform and clone techniques, it was difficult to maintain the jutsus continuously for more than thirty minutes because I was very inexperienced. As six years went by without being caught, though I had a couple of very close calls, I was able to keep the transform and clone technique including the others in effect continuously for more than several hours thanks to my tremendous determination and willpower.

Of course, they came with a huge price which involved testing my patience. It was a nerve-wracking process since I wasn't exactly well-known for my patience at times. Unlike Onii-san actually does, I didn't have either ADD or ADHD so it was much easier than I thought. However, it was mainly because I would definitely be patient in a heartbeat in order to protect him, no matter what the cost was.

* * *

When I was finally in the Academy building and now running through the long, narrow hallway, I quickly caught the sight of Iruka-sensei and the Third Hokage having a deep discussion as both of them walked toward me.

 **"Iruka-sensei, we need to talk about something!"** I shouted loudly, catching Iruka-sensei's attention and causing him to immediately shift his attention to look in the direction I was standing in with a puzzled expression on his face.

 **"It's about Mizuki! I think he's going to do something bad!"** I yelled again for the second time before Iruka-sensei's puzzled expression was replaced by shock in an instant. He was in pure shock wondering how I got involved and was able to construct such an assumption while he and the Third Hokage were actually discussing their suspicions toward Mizuki right now.

I already was bending over slightly, panting heavily in front of them after I came to a complete halt. Once Iruka-sensei came to his senses, he rushed to me as he put one of his hands on my left shoulder. At the same time, I immediately straightened my back up before I spoke firmly with my hand resting on my chest to help control my breathing, **"I have proof he may be scheming something that involves Onii-san!"**

Iruka-sensei let go of my shoulder before he spoke to me slightly concerned as he signed, **"Kurisu, what proof do you have which could prove that he might be behind this?"**

I reacted by pulling out a wrinkly, but folded piece of white paper before I started unfolding it and handed it to Iruka-sensei so he could see for himself.

After he took a glance at the white, crinkly paper, he suddenly tilted his head up to look at me in horror. He began inquiring me as he spoke loudly and signed frantically to me at the same time, **"Kurisu, where did you find this?!** "

I began explaining to both of them where I found it which actually was of course, in the wastebasket within my old classroom crumpled up.

 **"WHAT?!"** Iruka-sensei bellowed loudly as slightly bulging veins appeared on his forehead. He looked as if he was going to explode in front of me, but didn't when the Third Hokage laid one of his hands on Iruka-sensei's left shoulder and made a 'give it to me' motion with his other hand. Iruka-sensei then handed him the paper that I gave to Iruka-sensei so he could take a look at it for himself as well.

Upon on inspecting the white, crinkly paper, the Third Hokage turned his attention to both of us and nodded before he began speaking firmly, **"It seems that Kurisu may be onto something so we must be careful and not take unnecessary actions."**

He paused for a moment before he shifted his attention me as he cleared his throat to speak clearly, **"Now, where's your brother, Kurisu?"**

I raised my right shoulder and arm as I pointed my finger at the direction Onii-san was in before I answered back verbally, **"He's outside, Hokage-sama."**

 **"What?! You LEFT him outside by himself, Kurisu?!"** Iruka-sensei bellowed loudly again as the veins on his forehead continued to be visible.

I shook my head rapidly before I retracted my right arm to place both of my hands in front of me while my palms were facing Iruka-sensei. I stopped shaking my head as I spoke loudly this time stuttering a bit, **"N-N-No way, Iruka-sensei! I couldn't leave him alone so I secretly created a clone of myself to keep an eye on him!"**

My response seemed to calm Iruka-sensei down as seeing that the veins on his forehead were no longer there before he sighed with relief. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage finally took the opportunity to interject himself calmly into the conversation between both of us, **"I see. We should go and fetch Naruto before anything else happens."**

After Iruka-sensei finally collected himself, he nodded his head at him in agreement before I did the same. Afterwards, all three of us began walking together toward the exit of the Academy building in hopes that Naruto would still be outside waiting for all three of us.

Unfortunately, it didn't go exactly well as we thought because he wasn't there by the time we arrived. Iruka-sensei was already on the verge of freaking out again so the Third Hokage had do everything in his power to calm him down. It took much more time and effort than it had last time.

When he was finally placid although he was slightly apprehensive at the same time since he was still shaking a bit with uneasiness, the Third Hokage started relaying commands to Iruka-sensei directly while I pretended to be inattentive. Due to one of Honshu's abilities, telepathic communication, I was able to fully capture everything the Third Hokage mentioned to Iruka-sensei without even having to read their minds at all.

The Third Hokage finally completed the conversation by adding one more request as he spoke firmly, **"Furthermore, I would like you to be on stand-by until you're needed so go home but take Kurisu with you just in case. Do you understand that, Iruka?"**

Iruka quickly bowed formally in return completely calm as he spoke loudly, **"Yes, Hokage-sama!"**

I bowed respectfully at the Third Hokage without saying anything before Iruka-sensei and I left quickly. Together, Iruka-sensei began leading me toward his apartment so we could wait for further orders from above.

* * *

I was already inside Iruka-sensei's apartment when it was barely night when both of us arrived. It was somewhat different from our apartment in terms of its cleanliness and such. In fact, his apartment was so sparkling clean from the inside that you couldn't find anything including objects or debris scattered anywhere including on the floor and his bed.

I sat on his bed and made myself comfortable before I turned my head to the right to face Iruka-sensei. He was exhibiting a very familiar facial expression on his face which I immediately recognized the moment I noticed it. I was quite familiar with it because he always made that expression every time he was quite suspicious when he thinks that Onii-san or I did something wrong.

 **"Is there something else I needed to know, Kurisu?"** he inquired me verbally as he signed to me. I flinched because it was almost as if I was being deliberately interrogated by him, but that's a part of his job as a teacher, mentor, and of course, a legal guardian as well. I knew that he was quite aware of the fact I was hiding something else. In fact, Iruka-sensei knew both of us well enough to tell whether Onii-san and I was actually lying or not so there was absolutely no point in hiding it anymore.

I sighed deeply and started signing to him as I mumbled softly without any hesitation, **"Well, you see...I asked Onii-san to explain what happened when he took the exam. Based on what he said, I think Mizuki rigged the whole thing and used the Clone Technique."**

Iruka-sensei was taken aback by what I just told him before he froze momentarily for a minute or so. He finally managed to open his mouth, but only stuttered when he tried to speak. At that moment, I knew that Iruka-sensei was kicking himself in the head mentally when he began frowning guiltily as he stared at the floor with a blank expression on his face no longer shocked.

 **"It's not your fault that you didn't see that coming, Iruka-sensei."** I murmured to him as I signed to reassure him that it wasn't his fault despite the fact he still felt responsible for what happened earlier on today. After all, he was our legal guardian and it was his responsibility to keep both of us safe and sound.

Iruka-sensei shook his head before he looked at me with a serious facial expression on his face which softened as he opened his mouth slightly to speak. He whispered almost inaudibly as he signed simultaneously, **"No, it's my fault, Kurisu. I was supposed to be keeping you guys safe, but I failed to keep your brother safe in the end. I practically failed at being a parent the moment he was taken so I don't deserve to be your and Naruto's legal guardian anymore."**

I looked at him incredulously completely baffled by what he just told me. It was quite uncharacteristic of Iruka-sensei to be like this and I have never seen him speak and act like that before as well. I suddenly jumped off his bed and landed on the floor on my feet with a light thud before turning around to look him in the eyes as I confronted him directly without having any second thoughts. Before he could say or do anything, I proceeded to bellow angrily at him as I signed startling him in the process with my high-pitched, but intense voice, **"Iruka-sensei! Do you remember what you taught me about one of the great importances of being a true Shinobi?!"**

Iruka-sensei tilted his head to look at me quizzically since I was being rather vague as he uttered a single word, **"Uh?"**

I instantly was able to tell from his bewildered expression and body language that he was still distracted and flustered, so I took the liberty to answer my own question. I opened my mouth to speak loudly as I signed to him again, **"You taught me that a true Shinobi accepts his failures by learning from his mistakes every time and strives to succeed in becoming a better, stronger, and wiser Shinobi in the end instead of just giving up! Isn't that right, Iruka-sensei?!"**

By the time I was finished speaking, I was panting quietly. Iruka-sensei slowly widened his chocolate-colored eyes, dumbfounded before a smile slowly crept over his face as he mused briefly, **"You're right, Kurisu. I should ha-"**

Before Iruka-sensei could finish what he was going to say to me, we were interrupted by a series of loud, knocking sounds emanating from the front door, which was sending strong, inconsistent pulses vibrating throughout the walls and floors in the apartment. Iruka-sensei and I reacted by darting our head toward the front door before he turned his head to face me as he put his index finger on his thin lips. I immediately understood what he meant by his gesture and moved swiftly away from the front door to hide somewhere else in order to keep myself out of sight while I tried my best to keep myself quiet as possible.

Iruka-sensei made sure I was out of sight before he quickly hurried to the door and clutched the door handle to turn it as he opened the door to see a slightly trembling Jonin I hadn't seen before. He was buckling a bit while panting and sweating heavily to keep himself balanced. It was obvious that he had been in a rush to get to Iruka-sensei's apartment.

The Jonin quickly tilted his head up as he suddenly grabbed one of Iruka-sensei's shoulders with his right hand slightly shaking. He tried to speak, but sputtered first in the beginning as he struggled to pull a single sentence right out of his mouth, **"I-I-Iruka! Naruto stole the Scroll of Sealing!"**

His proclamation left Iruka-sensei utterly shocked before he yelled back at him in response, **"W-W-WHAT?!"**

Unbeknownst to the Jonin, I heard what he said so far and was left with an agape expression on my face as I began contemplating carefully to myself, _ **"There's no way Onii-san would do that, he would never betray the village including Iruka-sensei and me! Mizuki must have put him up to this since he's probably after the Scroll of Sealing! But, the question is...why does Mizuki wants it so badly?"**_

A soft, feminine voice appeared out of nowhere echoing into my head as it spoke firmly, **"You're correct about the first part, Kurisu. However, based on my vast knowledge spanning thousands of years, this type of scroll may or may not contain kinjutsu techniques which are considered forbidden techniques. They are banned for an obvious reason and that is the fact they are possibly sufficient to annihilate one of the five most powerful Shinobi villages if it falls into the wrong hands."**

 _ **"WHAT?! Are you freaking kidding me, Honshu-san?!"**_ I screamed inwardly at her while I was trying my best to not freak out at a critical time because the Jonin was still in both of our presence. He still wasn't able to detect me because he was far too busy freaking out at the moment to notice my presence anyway.

Honshu-san blinked once before shaking her head solemnly at me as she spoke firmly again, **"I'm afraid not so, Kurisu. Even worse, Mizuki probably planned to betray the village from the very beginning which may result in getting lots of people including your brother killed if we don't get moving soon, Kurisu."**

 ** _"That's just great! I guess my day just got much worse than I possibly imagined."_** I groaned mentally while I rubbed my forehead with my index finger and forefinger. At the same time, I quietly mumbled to myself while I continued to rub it, **"Man, I think I'm already getting a headache as well. Can't this day get any worse than it possibly could?"**

 _ **"Ah, allow me to get rid of the headache then, Kurisu. It's important for you to be on your feet so you can successfully retrieve your brother."**_ Honshu-san murmured softly as she sent out low-frequency pulses of her own chakra throughout my head completely extinguishing the headache in a matter of seconds before it became unbearable for me to handle.

 ** _"Thanks, Honshu-san. I definitely needed that!"_** I smiled at her with my lips still pressed together as I removed two of my fingers from my forehead and began refocusing my attention on what the Jonin was conveying to Iruka-sensei. Based on the looks of it, the stranger was already on the verge of leaving. Fortunately, Honshu-san was able to fill me in the rest of the conversation between the Jonin and Iruka-sensei, which occurred while I was distracted.

Apparently, the Jonin explained that he had to go ahead based on orders from the Third Hokage thus leaving a stunned Iruka-sensei behind. I came out of hiding once he was gone and rushed to Iruka-sensei at the front door. When I was finally standing at his side, I noticed that he was still stunned so I proceeded to shake his arm to bring him back to reality. It took a couple of moments for Iruka-sensei to recover before he realized that he needed to take actions immediately based on the command passed to him by the Jonin as well.

 **"Iruka-sensei! Can I please come with you? I want to help you get Onii-san back!"** I proclaimed loudly as I continued to shake his arm to fully capture his attention.

Iruka-sensei twisted his head to look at me as he got on one of his knees and began signing as he spoke firmly with a solemn look on his face, **"I would love to take you me so we could rescue your brother together, but I cannot do that."**

I stared at him bewildered before I began signing frantically as I spoke loudly, **"But,** **why?! I could just follow your orders and sta-"**

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish the rest of what I wanted to convey to him because I was cut off abruptly when Iruka-sensei interrupted me. He placed one of his hands on my right shoulder and interrupted me before he interjected himself, **"No, I'm sorry but you can't come with me. I cannot risk losing you, too, especially if something happens to Naruto as well. Will you please do as I say and wait until I get back, Kurisu?"**

I knew I was completely trapped at that moment and had no choice, but to obey Iruka-sensei. I retaliated by crossing my arms and pouting, rolling my eyes feeling quite irritated. At the same time, I signed tensely out of pure annoyance, **"Fine! I'll stay here and wait for you, Iruka-sensei."**

Iruka-sensei took one glance at me and smiled contentedly acknowledging the fact I was able to concur with his term before he began speaking firmly to me, **"Attaboy, Kurisu!"**

He smiled slightly at me as he moved his hand to pat me on the head affectionately in a fatherly way. Before I knew it, he was already gone leaving me in his apartment all by myself. When I made sure that Iruka-sensei was gone, I decided to disobey Iruka-sensei directly by sneaking out so I could track my brother down. I was the only one who knew where his whereabouts were after all since I possessed the ability to sense and locate bijuus thanks to Honshu-san.

Little did the both of us know, the Jonin who stopped by Iruka-sensei's apartment earlier on was actually Mizuki in disguise. Honshu-san was able to detect his deception, but neglected to mention that to me until much later on so I could be completely focused on retrieving my brother either with or without Iruka-sensei.


End file.
